Bodyguard
by xMoymoy
Summary: AU! Miyagi's a police guard who has just received a job from his boss to be a bodyguard for a certain somebody. Junjou terrorist characters!
1. This Is Your Job, Miyagi

**AN**: After doing a lot of thinking, I've started on this new story. The story is AU and features the Terrorist couple. In this story, there was no "sensei" or no Miyagi who was once married to Risako. Just Miyagi and his life as a police officer. I hope it's fine.

Warnings: Contains strong language. The rating may change in the future, if I decide to put lemons.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Junjou Romantica or anything to do with Junjou Romantica!

* * *

Trained police officer, Miyagi Yoh, had professionally completed a wide variety of tasks. He caught numerous criminals during his time, and in turn was at the top of the police squad.

He was now on his way to see his boss after receiving an important call, saying that he had been given a new mission. Miyagi had done many kinds of missions, whether life threatening or not.

Allowing no criminal to ever escape, Miyagi loved his job. Whether he has to spend all day catching a robber, be a secret bodyguard for weeks, or even play as some kind of spy, each day was filled with a new adventure that he always looked forward to.

Parking his police car outside the police station, Miyagi put out his cigarette and entered the building, heading toward the direction to his boss's office. He knocked on the door a few times and heard a familiar voice telling him to come in from the other end. Slowly twisting the silver doorknob, Miyagi swung the door open and stepped in, greeting the boss as he did so.

"Hello, officer Miyagi. Thanks for arriving on time, as usual," his boss said, smiling kindly. Miyagi smiled back and sat down in a black chair on the opposite end of a desk in front of his boss.

"So, what's the new task?" Miyagi asked, cutting straight to the point. He was hoping for some kind of dangerous and excitingly daring mission.

"I would like you to be a bodyguard for somebody particularly special," the boss said, leaving a somewhat disappointed Miyagi. "To be honest, the person who you'll have to protect isn't very fond of the idea at all. But I hope you'll be able to put up with his childish bickering."

"How old is this client?" Miyagi curiously asked.

"He's an eighteen year old university student. To be more specific, he's my one and only son. That's why I've called you for this job. We don't know how dangerous my son's situation may or may not be, but I can't afford to send anyone but the best of the best to protect him from any harm," his boss said, with a chuckle.

"Oh, I didn't know that you have a son. Is he also going to become a police officer someday?" Miyagi asked. It always sparked his interest to see a young man devoting himself to help fellow citizens.

"I'm not sure. He's taking law in university but that's all he has bothered to tell me."

"Well, what does he need a bodyguard for? Is he being targeted?"

"That's a possibility. We have very limited information regarding the whole situation. We have no idea who it might be or if there's more than one person involved. We also haven't a clue as of what anyone would want Shinobu for. Anyway, you go to his apartment and see if you can manage to spill some information out of him. I wanted him to come back home, where it'll be more safe, but he's in his rebellious phase and gaining independence, it seems," The boss sighed, shaking his head with the thought of his son.

The older man then quickly dotted down the teen's address on a scrap piece of paper and handed it to Miyagi who gratefully accepted it.

"All you have to do is try to catch whoever might want my son, and I'll give you a very rewarding bonus."

Miyagi didn't mind working with minors, though there weren't many cases that involved Miyagi with them. As long as this Shinobu kid wasn't some brat, Miyagi would be able to tolerate this.

After bidding farewell to the boss, Miyagi left him to do his work and made his way to Shinobu's apartment building.

* * *

When Miyagi reached the place, he was stuck. The door to the building was locked and when he buzzed "Takatsuki Shinobu" on the apartment buzzer, he received no response. Inside the building, there was absolutely nobody in sight.

Sighing, Miyagi turned around to wait in his car but stopped when he saw someone whom was carrying a few bags of groceries approach the building. Miyagi couldn't make out anything about the person since they wore baggy clothing, a hood over their head, a scarf covering his face, and dark sunglasses which completely tinted their eyes.

When the suspicious-looking individual approached the building, they placed a bag of groceries on the ground and reaching into their pocket, pulling out a key. They quickly opened the door and picked up their groceries again, holding the door open for Miyagi to take.

Miyagi awkwardly smiled and grabbed the door, letting the person go in first. The strange person walked in, followed by Miyagi who stopped to look at the address written on the scrap sheet of paper. _Room 150, first floor_, it read. Miyagi looked around and noticed a sign pointing to the left, which read, _Rooms 100-150_.

Miyagi headed in that direction, noticing the strange individual also walking down that hall. Miyagi sighed when the first room in that hallway was room number 100, meaning that room 150 is probably at the very end.

They both walked for an awkward few minutes, neither one of them going into any of the passing rooms until the person suddenly stopped, just meters away from room 150, nearly causing Miyagi to bump into them.

"Are you following me?" the person asked, voice indicating that he was a young male. The question startled Miyagi. He wasn't used to suspicious-looking people asking him questions like that as though Miyagi were the suspicious one. Especially since he was wearing his cop uniform.

"What? No, I–"

"We're pretty much at the end of this hallway, yet you still didn't go to any apartment. You know that there's no exit this way, right?" the guy asked, spinning around to face Miyagi.

"No, I'm sure I'm heading in the right direction. Room 150 is right over there, right?" Miyagi asked, narrowing his violet eyes. Couldn't this person see he was a cop?

"You have no business with room 150," the guy firmly said.

"I'm an officer."

"Yeah. What of it?" the man asked, as if itching for a fight. Miyagi's brow twitched, angrily.

"It means that I can go wherever the hell I need to go. Now if you'll excuse me, I can't waste anymore time talking to you," Miyagi said, attempting to pass by the rude person, who stepped sideways to block his path.

Miyagi intensely glared down at the guy for a moment, who had his head tilted upwards, probably glaring right back at Miyagi.

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but opposing an officer can get you into a lot of trouble, so why don't you back off?" Miyagi said, itching to see what this person looked like underneath those clothes.

"I don't think so," the person bluntly stated, not moving an inch. At this, Miyagi frowned and abruptly lifted his hand to pull the person's hood back, revealing blonde hair.

The guy reflectively jumped back, causing his sunglasses to fall off his face when he did so. The boy looked somehow frightened, even after all that tough talk, staring at Miyagi with very wide, grey eyes.

"Takatsuki... Shinobu?" Miyagi asked the kid, who had the same grey eyes as his boss.

"What do you want?" Shinobu demanded, turning from slightly frightened to angry again.

"Look, calm down, kid. I'm officer Miyagi Yoh, your new bodyguard. Hasn't your father told you?" Miyagi asked, reaching down to pick up the fallen sunglasses. Shinobu blinked twice, gawking at the 'new bodyguard.'

"Are you serious? I thought my father was joking when he said that I'll be getting a bodyguard!" Shinobu sighed in frustration, running a hand through his hair after dropping a bag of groceries. "I don't need your help. You can leave," Shinobu said, picking the bag back up and turning around to his apartment.

Miyagi followed him as Shinobu unlocked the door and opened it.

"I said that you're just wasting your time! You can keep those sunglasses!" Shinobu angrily shouted.

With his hands occupied by carrying bags, Shinobu couldn't retreat when Miyagi grabbed him around the waist and carried him, single handedly, into the apartment and closed the door with his other hand. Shinobu was outraged.

"W-What the hell? Put me down, bastard!" Shinobu shouted, dropping the groceries as Miyagi invaded Shinobu's home. "Get the fuck out of my apartment! No one said you can do this!" Shinobu exclaimed, trying to wriggle free from Miyagi's tight hold.

The stronger man approached Shinobu's couch and roughly tossed the frazzled teen on top of it. The scarf Shinobu was wearing fell from his face, allowing Miyagi to be able to get a clear image of how this person looked like for the first time. To be honest, the kid wasn't bad-looking– not at all, actually. Though, he could have looked better if he were smiling.

"Brat," Miyagi remarked, tossing Shinobu's sunglasses on his expensive-looking glass coffee table. "First of all, your father gave me permission to come. Secondly, you _do_ need me here. Do you even realize how easily I was able to make my way through here? You're lighter than you think you are," Miyagi said, folding his arms across his broad chest.

Shinobu scowled at the comments made by some guy who thought he could just step all over him. "My father doesn't live here. _I_ do. Therefore, I make the choices of who can come here or not," Shinobu stated.

Miyagi just stared at the brat for a moment until he decided to glance around the apartment. It had a plain layout and was only filled with furniture... though the furniture appeared too expensive to be bought by a mere student.

"I imagine your father pays for your rent," Miyagi stated.

Not receiving a response from the boy who merely narrowed his already glaring eyes, Miyagi assumed his assumption was correct.

"You brat. If you're not the one who actually pays for this place, then technically it's not _your_ choice who can come here or not. Geez, where did you get your rude behaviour from, anyway?"

"Shut up! Get lost or something! I don't need you here at all! I can take care of myself!" Shinobu yelled, standing up, only to be pushed back down by Miyagi. Shinobu furiously gritted his teeth, clenching his tight fists. Miyagi sighed.

"I can tell you don't like me. Honestly, I don't like you either. But the boss tells me there's something up. Can't you just explain to me a little about your situation? The sooner you tell me, the sooner I can leave and we'll all be happy again."

"How about you just go and become some other person's bodyguard? Y'know, someone who may actually _need_ one!" Shinobu shouted, like the brat he was making himself out to be.

"You mean like _you_?"

Shinobu grimaced for a second, then slumped down in defeat. Miyagi smirked and crouched down in front of the boy.

"It won't be that bad. We just got off to a bad start. It's almost lunch time– why don't I treat you?" Miyagi offered, trying to make the best of this situation. Shinobu silently groaned to himself, until he signed.

"I can make lunch. I just got some groceries. They're in the bags that I dropped," Shinobu mumbled. Miyagi smiled and got up to fetch the said grocery bags.

That would be cheaper than treating the kid, though Miyagi was surprised that this kid could even cook, considering how his dad basically spoiled him with the apartment.

Miyagi handed Shinobu the bags and the boy reached inside them, taking out a whole cabbage. Miyagi blinked when Shinobu took out another cabbage... and then two more cabbages in the other bag.

"What's... with all the cabbages?"

"There was a sale," Shinobu blankly mentioned, standing up and bringing one of them to the kitchen.

"Hey, I hope you don't mind if I check out your apartment. I need to see things like how many ways someone can possibly break in here and other stuff like that," Miyagi said. Shinobu stalled for a second.

"... Fine. Do as you please. But if I notice anything missing, don't be surprised if my father fires you," Shinobu coldly threatened. Miyagi decided to brush it off and went down a small, stubby hallway. He opened a door and peered inside.

It was clearly Shinobu's bedroom. The bed looked fit for a king, there was a wide-screened TV planted on the wall, the dresser looked like it was quite sturdy, and it had quite a nice rug placed in the centre of the spacious bedroom.

Miyagi stepped inside and stared at the walls, then blinked when he noticed a picture hanging on Shinobu's wall. He stepped closer to curiously examine it.

It was a framed picture of a little glaring boy with his parents and sister. The boy in the picture looked like a mini-Shinobu; it probably taken when that brat was about five years old or so.

'_So this is what the boss looked like when he was young, eh? Where did he find such an attractive wife? I didn't know that the boss had a daughter..._' Miyagi thought as he stared at the picture. So many discoveries.

Miyagi decided to check out the rest of the place, closing the bedroom door as he left. He entered the room across from it, which was obviously the bathroom. There was a very small window in the shower, but nothing big enough to be able to enter through. Well, at least now Miyagi knew where the bathroom was.

The officer closed that door as well, and realized that that was all of Shinobu's apartment, aside from the kitchen and living room. Miyagi walked back to where he had left the brat and glanced over the kitchen counter, just in time to see Shinobu cook.

The kid was holding a sharp blade in his hand before frantically chopping the poor cabbage head into what could've possibly been thousands of tiny pieces. Miyagi was stunned when Shinobu sloppily grabbed the pieces and slapped them into a frying pan, rapidly flipping them as they loudly sizzled in the pan.

What amazed Miyagi all the more was when Shinobu hovered over it and seemed to be muttering a dark, ancient spell. The blonde boy was expressionless all the while, and then grabbed a bottle, pouring what seemed to be waaaaay too much into the pan, which quickly busted in flames.

"Turn off the damn heat! You'll set your place on fire, idiot!" Miyagi shouted, rushing over to Shinobu's aid.

Miyagi quickly turned off the heat and grabbed the pan from Shinobu and blew it, putting out the flames. Shinobu stood there, dumbfounded, staring at the steaming pieces of burnt char.

"..."

"Do you even know _how_ to cook?" Miyagi asked, averting his gaze from the food to Shinobu.

"What's there to know about it? You just gotta chop it up, cook it and eat it," Shinobu stated with a huff. Miyagi ran a hand through his hair and placed the frying pan down onto a burner.

"You... are certainly a strange one, aren't you?"

Shinobu scowled and glared at Miyagi.

"Why don't I treat you to lunch?" Miyagi offered, for the second time that day.


	2. I don't like you

**AN: **Here's chapter 2 :D I started writing this pretty much right after I published the first chapter. Hope you'll like it!

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Junjou Romantica or anything to do with Junjou Romantica!

* * *

After a short and awkwardly silent drive from Shinobu's apartment to a nice restaurant, Miyagi and Shinobu were sitting across from each other at a table, with menus placed in front of their faces, deciding what they wanted to eat.

"What are you having, Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked. Shinobu slowly stared up at Miyagi with huge look of disgust on his face.

"'Shinobu-chin'?" Shinobu squeaked out. "What kind of stupid name is that?" Miyagi chuckled, wholeheartedly.

"Sorry... I thought it might suit you. Actually, I think it _does _suit you," Miyagi said.

"Don't act as if you know me. I don't like that name."

"I do," Miyagi said, not exactly caring if Shinobu disliked the name or not. "So what are you going to have?" he asked again, without the nickname attached.

"Steak," Shinobu said, putting the menu down.

"Which steak?"

"Doesn't matter. _Good _steak," Shinobu said. Miyagi sighed. Damn rich kids...

"You know there's different kinds of meat and methods of cooking them and... never mind. You don't even know the very basics of cooking basic food," Miyagi said.

"I bet you can't cook any better. Your wife probably does all of it," Shinobu stated, crossing his arms.

"Idiot, do you even see me wearing a wedding ring?" Miyagi asked, holding out his left hand for Shinobu to see.

"... Lets see your right hand."

"You place a wedding ring on your left hand, the finger next to the pinky. How are you going to get married in the future if you don't even know that?" Miyagi asked, starting to get concerned for the kid's lack of common sense.

"Easy. I won't get married," Shinobu stated. "Looks like you weren't able to get lucky enough to find someone," Shinobu sighed. "Poor you."

Miyagi's brow twitched, uncomfortably.

"Yeah? Maybe I also chose not to get married. Love isn't quite my cup of tea. Too much trouble and not worth the headaches, in my opinion," Miyagi said, sipping a mug of warm coffee. "Besides, with my occupation and such, sometimes I'm gone for weeks at a time which wouldn't be fair to my wife if I ever had one."

"... So how long do you have to stay around me for?" Shinobu asked.

"Who knows? It could take days, weeks, or possibly even months," Miyagi said.

Shinobu groaned at this, not liking it for a second.

"C'mon, Shinobu-chin. Maybe we'll come to like each other if we just take the time to know one another. The conversation we just had is actually a very good start," Miyagi said, trying to be optimistic. "Oh yeah, I also need to know more about what kind of situation that you're in, so why don't you tell me about it?"

"... Nothing happened," Shinobu said. "It's just that I keep feeling as though I'm being watched. Mostly at night. That's pretty much all I told my father and he just had to get a damn bodyguard!" Shinobu exclaimed as a young waitress approached their table. She smiled at Miyagi then blushed when she noticed Shinobu sitting there with that somehow attractive glare on his face.

"Hello, gentlemen! Can I take your orders?" she asked, giggling slightly.

"Uh, yeah. We'll both have lamb steaks. Is that okay with you, Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked.

"Dammit, I said not to call me that!" Shinobu angrily huffed. "And lamb is fine," he added, starting to get a bit hungry.

"Two lamb steaks..." the waitress said, taking down the order on a small notepad. "Is that everything?" she asked, mainly looking at Shinobu who just sat there, glaring at Miyagi.

"Yeah, thanks," Miyagi said as the preppy girl walked off. Miyagi waited until the girl was completely out of sight until he spoke.

"You sure you don't ever want to get married? That waitress seems to like you, Shinobu-chin."

"What makes you think that?"

"Can't you tell? She kept on staring at you with a blush on her face," Miyagi said, not even believing how incredibly blunt Shinobu was.

"So? That doesn't mean anything. I was staring at you the whole time and I don't like you," Shinobu stated. Miyagi sighed. Was the kid serious?

"I said she was _staring _at you, not _glaring _at you. Besides, she was blushing, which you weren't," Miyagi mentioned. "Why don't you ask her out? If someone isn't beside you during the path of life, I'll get worried since you're so clueless about everything."

"Pfft! I'm living alone, remember?"

"Yeah, and now you need a bodyguard! You probably wouldn't be able to last a second if it wasn't for you father."

"Geez, you're so irritating! You know nothing about me, so don't act like you do! It's not like I ever asked for a bodyguard, anyway!" Shinobu huffed, sipping some juice through the straw.

"You'd probably be long dead before you'd even realize that you do need one," Miyagi said.

"I can defend myself. I'm a man, not a wimp," Shinobu said, stiffening his posture. Miyagi chuckled.

"Is that so?"

"Of course."

"Alright then. When we go back, show me how good you can fight. Your place is pretty spacious so there will be plenty of space to move around," Miyagi challenged.

"Fine, then. Prepare to run away with your tail between your legs when I whoop your ass," Shinobu confidently exclaimed. "Remember who you're talking to. I'm the son of your boss." Miyagi smirked.

"How can I forget? If it weren't for that then I wouldn't have to babysit you..." Miyagi mumbled under his breath.

"Then go! I don't want you here," Shinobu huffed as the waitress came back with their food. Shinobu glanced at her, curious as to what Miyagi meant when he said she was blushing. She giggled and placed the steaks in front of them, still blushing as Shinobu stared at her.

"Here you guys go. I hope you'll enjoy!" she chirped, taking one last look at Shinobu until wondering off. Miyagi sighed.

"You should have asked for her phone number while she was here. She's not bad looking," Miyagi said, picking up a fork and knife.

"I'm not interested in her," Shinobu said, stuffing a big chunk of the rich, juicy steak into his drooling mouth.

"Why not? She seems nice... unlike a certain someone," Miyagi coughed out. Shinobu moaned, shoving another giant piece of steak in his mouth. "... You might want to slow down when eating such large chucks of meat like that. Don't wanna choke now, do we?" Shinobu shook his head and swallowed.

"What are you talking about? I've always eaten steak like this and I've never chocked. Idiot." Shinobu muttered.

Miyagi shrugged and resumed eating the steak, which was cooked really nicely. The flavors clashed together really nicely as they released into their mouths. They sat there, eating in silence for about 3 minutes until Shinobu finished. Miyagi looked up at him and smiled.

"That was quick," Miyagi stated.

"Not really," Shinobu said, slouching down in his seat.

"So... you said that you feel like you're being watched, mainly at night. What else is there?" Miyagi asked, taking a bite of his steak.

"Nothing. That's it," Shinobu said, folding his arms over his chest.

"That's it?"

"That's it."

Miyagi sighed. Maybe Shinobu's father really _was _overreacting...

"You sure?"

"Well, there's also that one time I caught someone peeking in through my bedroom window, I was stalked home one day, and I received a strange email from someone I don't know," Shinobu added. Miyagi sighed. Or maybe he wasn't overreacting...

"Did you see the people's faces when they looked through your window and stalked you home?" Miyagi asked. Shinobu shook his head.

"When I walked into my bedroom, I was only able to see the side of a person run away for a split second. They had their hood on so I couldn't see the face. And when I was followed home, I was too nervous to look behind me. But whenever I sped up, the person did, too. And if I slowed down, they did too. It was kind of creepy," Shinobu said with a shiver.

"Do you know anyone who might be doing this? Do you have any enemies or have you recently had some kind of arguments or relationships that could have abruptly ended all of a sudden?" Miyagi asked, trying to gather as much information as possible, now that Shinobu was finally speaking.

"If I had any idea of who it could be, I would've confronted that person a long time ago, dumb ass," Shinobu huffed.

"I should teach you some manners later," Miyagi muttered. "So, what did the email say?"

"Something along the lines of 'I want to be your friend. Tell me your name, interests, hobbies, friends...' and other stuff that I can't remember."

"Wow, this person really does seem like a stalker," Miyagi said, finishing his steak.

"No, shit," Shinobu huffed. Miyagi chuckled.

"Well... since you're the son of a wealthy man, there's the possibility of them trying to take advantage of that so they can somehow get your father's money. This can also be some person trying to target you for their sexual pleasures... but of course we don't know if this is all the same person or not," Miyagi stated, brainstorming facts in his head. "When did these occur?"

"... I guess the stalking incident happened about 4 or 5 days ago, then the day after that, I saw the person looking into my room, and then like two days later, I got the email."

"It looks like after stalking you, they figured out where you live and used that information to look into your room when they thought you weren't looking... then maybe they somehow found out your email address and sent you the email... You're stalker's dumb," Miyagi said. "It probably won't take long to get this guy. Chances are, he'll probably make another move soon and since I'm here, I can bust him."

"Good, then maybe you can go home," Shinobu grumbled.

"I'm not _that _bad, am I? Don't you think we bonded today? Just think of me as a friend who's having some kind of giant sleepover or something."

"WHAT? You mean you have to _sleep _at my house?" Shinobu exclaimed. Miyagi sighed.

"Of course. You said that you feel like you're being watched, mainly at _night. _If I'm not there, how am I supposed to do anything?"

"Don't you bodyguards take shifts or something? You can't work 24/7!"

"Usually they do. I'm fine working 24/7, anyway. I'm a really light sleeper so at night when I'm sleeping, I can wake up to even the faintest of sounds. It's no problemo!"

"Gah, let's just go home. Or at least go to _my _home," Shinobu said, standing up in a huff and angrily walked out, not waiting for Miyagi.

Miyagi grinned, relived that Shinobu was finally trying to get used to the fact that Miyagi would become his bodyguard. Maybe after having this conversation, Shinobu might have finally realized that he might be targeted for some reason.

After leaving the money on the table, Miyagi left the restaurant and joined Shinobu who was waiting outside the car.

"Open this thing. I don't have a key," Shinobu complained, leaning against the police car. Miyagi unlocked it and they both entered, heading back to Shinobu's place.

* * *

Shinobu swung the door open, marching into his apartment with Miyagi following closely behind. Miyagi closed the door behind them and suddenly held his arms out like a defensive shield when Shinobu suddenly swung around and threw a punch at him. Shinobu frowned at Miyagi's sudden reflex and lowered his arm again.

"So, you didn't forget about your challenge," Shinobu mumbled. Miyagi chuckled.

"Of course not," Miyagi said. "C'mon, Shinobu-chin! Lets see how good you are."

"Dammit, stop calling me that!" Shinobu exclaimed, punching at Miyagi again, this time at his stomach. Miyagi caught Shinobu's fist with his hand and smiled.

"It's a cute name. Get used to it," Miyagi said, not releasing Shinobu's smaller hand that tried to pull back. Instead of Shinobu making the next move, this time Miyagi did. He pulled Shinobu's hand slightly to the side, opposite direction of the hand Shinobu used and more towards himself, causing Shinobu to spin around, hand still in Miyagi's, only now, Miyagi had Shinobu's hand firmly held behind his back.

Since Shinobu was a bit frazzled by Miyagi's sudden movements, Miyagi used it as an opportunity to grab Shinobu's other hand and do the same thing.

Gently, so he didn't harm Shinobu in any way, Miyagi slowly pushed Shinobu down onto the ground and sat on top of Shinobu's bum, using one hand to keep his arms in place behind his back and the other hand to gently press Shinobu's head to the floor, facing sideways so it wouldn't be too uncomfortable. Miyagi smirked as Shinobu uselessly struggled.

"You bastard! Get off!" Shinobu yelled, desperately trying to break free.

"I told you that you can't defend yourself. Just look at yourself right now!" Miyagi said, ruffling Shinobu's soft, blonde hair.

"Shut up! Just get off!"

"Calm down, calm down. This is exactly why you need me here. Even though you're the son of my talented boss, you can't defend yourself even if your life depended on it!" Miyagi teased, placing Shinobu's hands on either side of the boy's head. "Just think how bad it would be if a robber, rapist, murderer, or some kind of psychopath did this to you. You're very vulnerable, you know."

"Whatever! Gah, you're so heavy!" Shinobu complained, still struggling nonstop.

"You sure have a lot of energy. Maybe I should just stay here and see how long it'll take until you give up." Miyagi said with a smirk. Shinobu frustratedly growled and started kicking his legs, still not even coming close to getting Miyagi off.

After a good three long minutes, Shinobu finally stopped his pointless struggles and just laid there with Miyagi on top, pinning him face down on the floor, breathing heavily.

"Finished?"

"... Get off," Shinobu mumbled. Chuckling, Miyagi finally complied to the young boy's demand. He sat down beside Shinobu, who quickly sat up and glared deathly at Miyagi.

"How come you're always glaring at me? Do you really hate me that much?" Miyagi asked, hoping that wasn't the case.

Shinobu furthermore narrowed his dark, grey eyes before responding with a firm, "Yes."

"... At least you're being honest," Miyagi mumbled, standing up. "Mind if I smoke?" he asked, taking out a box of cigarettes and lighter.

"They smell bad," Shinobu mumbled, also standing up. "They pollute the environment. They cause life threatening diseases, such as cancer."

"I won't get cancer, silly Shinobu-chin," Miyagi said optimistically as he opened the box.

He placed a cigarette betwixt his lips and quickly lit it. Shinobu covered his nose and backed up several feet as Miyagi slowly inhaled and exhaled the drug.

"Dumb ass, I said the smell _bad_! Have a little respect for those around you!" Shinobu exclaimed, using his sleeve to block the stinky smoke circulation throughout the room from going to his nose.

"I should be saying the same to you, brat."

"I don't stink, dumb fuck!" Shinobu angrily shouted. Miyagi started to chuckle.

"That's not what I meant. I mean that _you _should have a little respect for those around you," Miyagi said. Shinobu's glare slowly faded and he slightly tilted his head sideways with such a clueless expression. Miyagi hated to say this but he somehow looked a bit cute like that.

"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding so innocent. Miyagi pressed his face against his palm and sighed.

"I mean we only met today, yet you keep calling me things like 'bastard', 'dumb fuck', 'idiot'... who knows what else. I wouldn't care if we've known each other for a long time but we just met a few hours ago, and I'm twice your freaking age!" Miyagi exclaimed.

"How old are you?" Shinobu asked.

"35."

"Old man," Shinobu grumbled with his usual half-opened eyes and dull expression. Miyagi's brow twitched as he puffed his cigarette.

"Great, now you've just added onto you're list of mean names that you're given me. I have feelings, too," Miyagi said. "I don't suppose you have an ashtray, do you?"

"Of course not. I don't smoke," Shinobu huffed, folding his arms.

"In that case, you'd be fine if I leave you alone for a few minutes, right? Since I'm going to be staying here, I'll need to get a few things," Miyagi stated, approaching the front door. "Might as well bring an ashtray over, as well..."

"I'm not a little kid," Shinobu grumbled.

"Yes, you are. Keep the door locked while I'm gone. I'll be back in-"

"No. I want to come with you," Shinobu stated, stepping out of the door. Miyagi gawked at the teen, dumbfounded as to why Shinobu would ever want to come.

"I thought you just said that you hate me," Miyagi said.

"Who cares? Let's go. You got to see my house so I want to see yours."

"There's nothing special about it. It's just an apartment," Miyagi said, closing the door behind him. The doors locked automatically but Miyagi twisted the knob again, just to make sure it was locked.

"I don't care. Hurry up, old man!" Shinobu called out, already halfway down the hall. Miyagi sighed. Trying to teaching this kid manners would be like trying to teach a fish how to walk on dry land.

* * *

The trip didn't last very long since all Miyagi did was grab a prepacked bag in the closet and put an ashtray inside. To Shinobu's disappointment, Miyagi was right about how there was nothing special about the apartment... although it was tidier than how Shinobu thought it would be. They returned to Shinobu's place after about half an hour.

"Where do you want me to put my bag?" Miyagi asked as Shinobu plopped on the couch.

"Just stuff it up your ass," Shinobu snapped, resting his head behind his hands.

". . ."

"Just kidding. You can leave it wherever for now," Shinobu said. Even when the kid was kidding about stuff, he didn't smile, it seemed.

Miyagi tossed his sports bag next to the couch and sat down next to Shinobu.

"You can just act like I'm not here. I don't want to get in your way," Miyagi said.

"I don't see how that's possible.'

"Just do whatever you'd normally do."

Shinobu just sat there and Miyagi smiled.

"Now don't be embarrassed if you normally watch porn," Miyagi teased, causing Shinobu's blood to boil once again.

"That's not it! It's impossible to just 'act like you're not there' when you keep saying stupid things like that!" Shinobu huffed.

"What? It's perfectly normal for an eighteen year old healthy teenage boy to like porn. There's nothing wrong with it."

"Did _you _used to like porn when you were 18?"

"Well... not necessarily... but other teens liked it." Miyagi was more into watching action movies when he was younger.

"I don't."

"Well you're sort of weird, so you don't count," Miyagi bluntly stated.

"What makes you think that?" Shinobu asked, in a darker tone.

"Well, my very first impression of you was that you were some suspicious individual, then you began to pick a fight with me, even though I'm a cop, then you get so damn stubborn about me being your bodyguard even though you're weak and being stalked, then you began to cook cabbages like a maniac, then you said that you weren't even interested in dating or getting married in the future... I can go on if you wish," Miyagi offered.

"None of those means that I'm weird. I was trying to cover myself up when we met so that if the stalker guy happened to see me, he wouldn't follow me again. I was arguing with you because it seemed like you were following me. Of course I don't want to have a bodyguard invade my private space. I don't cook like a manic, I'm still learning how to cook properly. And it's not weird to want to stay single. You are, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but when I was your age, I always thought that I'd want to get married and settle down someday. I just changed my mind as I got older," Miyagi stated. "Anyway, you're still weird, in my opinion."

"I don't care what you think of me."

"You're so pessimistic all the time. Lighten up a bit!" Miyagi teased, bumping him with his elbow.

"I'm going to shower," Shinobu mentioned out of nowhere. "Entertain yourself somehow."

"Alright then," Miyagi said as Shinobu walked off into the bathroom. He closed the door with a loud thud, leaving Miyagi with nothing to do.

Miyagi sat there on the couch, bored for a few minutes, listening to the shower water run in the nearby bathroom. He looked around the room but found nothing that really sparked his interest.

With nothing else that he could find to do, Miyagi got up and stood outside the bathroom door, waiting for the kid to come out.

* * *

When Shinobu finished with his shower, he somewhat dried himself with his towel and loosely wrapped it around his slender waist. He placed his hands flat on the counter as he briefly examined himself in the mirror. He watched himself grimace as he began to get caught up in his own thoughts.

He didn't want to have a bodyguard.

He didn't want some random cop to be hanging around him all the time.

Invading his privacy and popping his private bubble... The whole idea didn't appeal to Shinobu at all. He knew that Miyagi didn't like him and he also didn't like Miyagi, either. But... at least Miyagi was trying to get along.

Shinobu saw his reflection's face fall and he sighed deeply, before turning away from his image.

'_Instead of being a brat, maybe I should try to make the best of this... like how that idiot said_,' Shinobu thought, twisting the door knob and opening the door open.

He looked up and immediately jumped back, gasping, when he noticed Miyagi leaning against his bedroom door, right across from him. The sudden movement nearly caused his towel to fall off.

Miyagi chuckled as he watched the frazzled boy flush crimson and frantically grab his towel to wrap it more securely around his stick-like figure.

"Dammit. you bastard! Why the hell were you just standing there while I was showering? Fucking perverted pedophile!" Shinobu exclaimed. He felt his face burn out of embarrassment.

"Hahaha... I'm not a pervert nor pedophile for waiting for you, Shinobu-chin. Just wanted to stay nearby in case anything bad happened," Miyagi cheerfully stated, placing a hand on his hip.

"What the hell could happen in the shower? Get sucked in the drain?" Shinobu fumed, forming his hands into tight balls of fury.

"I do love your sense of humour, Shinobu-chin!" Miyagi teased, ruffling Shinobu's wet hair. Shinobu quickly swatted his hand away.

'_Getting along with this bastard would be impossible_,' Shinobu thought, pessimistically, to himself.

"But earlier today when I was checking out your place, I did notice that little window in the shower. Make sure you keep it closed all the way when you're showing— or doing anything in the bathroom, for that matter," Miyagi warned, pointing a finger at Shinobu's glaring face.

"Of course I do, idiot," Shinobu huffed. "Move! You're standing in front of my bedroom! I need to get dressed!"

"Say 'please' and I'll think about it."

"Move, goddammit!" Shinobu exclaimed, attempting to shove Miyagi out of the way.

"Say 'please' first," Miyagi said, grabbing onto Shinobu's wrists.

"Why should I?"

"If I don't teach you manners, who will?" Miyagi asked, as Shinobu struggled to get his hands back. "It's only one word. You can do it, Shinobu-chin!" he cheered on.

"My father's not paying you to teach me manners, he's paying you to get rid of that creeper guy! Fuck, let go!"

"Yes, you should take advantage of this free service that I'm providing you. If you were you, I'd be grateful!"

"Fine! PLEASE move out of the fucking way and let go of my goddamn wrists!" Shinobu exclaimed, angrily staring up at Miyagi who sighed and let the boy go.

"At least you said it," Miyagi grumbled, stepping aside for Shinobu to get by. Shinobu irritatedly rubbed his wrists, catching Miyagi's attention. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did it hurt?" he asked. Normally when he'd grab people's wrists, he was usually arresting them, so he got rough on them, on purpose.

"... No, it's fine," Shinobu responded as he stepped into his room. "I'll be back in a minute. You can just do whatever."

Miyagi nodded as Shinobu slowly shut the door closed, starting to get angry at himself for letting his emotions get the best of him once again.

He heard Miyagi walk away on the other side of the door and stared straight ahead at his window. Ever since he saw someone running away outside his window, he'd always check to see if there was anyone or anything there or not. Shinobu thought of it as a habit made out of paranoia, which he blamed on the ass hole who was peeping on him.

He stomped over to the window and pulled the curtains shut, blocking the view of anything that can glimpse inside.

He marched over to his dresser and took out some clothes, thinking, '_When will that stalker make the next move? Whenever he will, that cop better bust his ass then I can live my independent lifestyle again. Then no more stalker or bodyguard._'

* * *

**AN:** I didn't know how to end this chapter but I wanted to quickly end it so that I can post it up. So tell me what you think of this story.

Thanks for reading and please review!


	3. Will you teach me?

"Hey, old man!" Shinobu called out to Miyagi. "I'm going to make dinner," he announced, marching over to the kitchen.

After spending his first few hours at Shinobu's house, they could still honestly say they didn't like each other. They spent the majority of the day watching TV and bickering over which channel to watch. If there was one thing Miyagi had learned... it was that this rich brat would probably never even come close to liking him... and that Shinobu should _never _cook things on his own.

"No! I'll do it!" Miyagi exclaimed, rushing over to the blonde. He placed his hands on the kid's shoulders in order to stop him. "You can just sit back and relax! I'll do it," Miyagi pressed, in an attempt to shush Shinobu back to the couch. Shinobu stiffened and stood his ground, stubbornly.

"Why? You'll probably poison me!" Shinobu teased... or at least Miyagi thought he was teasing.

"Ha... ha... ha... You know I wouldn't do that!"

"It seems very likely that you _would_,"Shinobu huffed. Miyagi sighed. Okay, maybe he wasn't teasing.

"If you want, you can watch me. But I guarantee you that I'd never poison anyone. After all, I'm a police officer!" Miyagi stated, proudly flashing his shiny badge out of nowhere.

"Yeah, yeah. Even though you're my dad's top cop, I don't trust you, old man. I'll make dinner."

"Fine, we'll do it together," Miyagi suggested. Cooking with the brat could have been a good opportunity to find some good common ground between them. Even though it would be extremely dangerous, knowing that the kid mould set the place on fire.

Now that Miyagi thought about it... how the hell was this brat even alive?

"No! You'll only be in the way. You're probably just as clueless around the kitchen as I am!" Shinobu protested, not even realizing that he just admitted that he was a complete amateur.

"Actually, when I first started my career, I protected a chef for about a year. Unlike you, he was grateful for me being there and offered to teach me pretty awesome things," Miyagi bragged.

"... What kind of things?" Shinobu bashfully questioned, averting his gaze to the ground. His glare faded― it was kind of creepy in a way.

"Things like recipes, spices, methods, herbs... you know, things like that."

Miyagi paused for a moment to see if Shinobu had anything to say, but when nothing came out, he continued.

"He taught me many things like how to balance out flavors, what temperatures to use, how to make things more presentable..." Miyagi chuckled as the brat vigorously nodded his little blonde head, as if eager to know more. "You sure seem interested for once," Miyagi stated with a smirk.

"I'm not interested in _you_!" Shinobu snapped, glare reemerging. "I want to know about whatever that guy taught you!

"In other words... you want me to teach you." It sounded more like a statement than a question.

For some reason, Shinobu clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, as if ready to throw a tantrum of some sort at Miyagi. Miyagi just kept his eyes on the kid, wondering what he'd do next.

Though they've only spent less than a day together, Miyagi found this brat to be quite interesting. He never knew what he would do next; it was quite different from his usual, boring clients.

Or maybe Shinobu was just irregular. Miyagi chuckled inside his head. 'Irregular' really did seem like the best word that could be used to describe this kid, Miyagi decided.

Miyagi blinked when Shinobu took an unnoticeable inhale and exhale through the nose and began to loosen up his stiff posture. Shinobu's glare slowly faded again and his hands calmly hung, lazily to his sides.

"Can you?" he asked quietly.

"Eh?" Miyagi was too flabbergasted in watching Shinobu calm himself down to remember their conversation.

"Can you teach me?" Shinobu asked slightly louder. "I'm pretty much new to all this cooking stuff, so will it be okay?"

"After you hurt my feelings multiple times? Even though I'm a top-notch cop, I'm actually a big softie on the inside." Miyagi pretended to wipe away a fake tear from his eye with his finger, and tilted his head toward the ground, eyes still watching Shinobu.

Even with Miyagi's terrible acting, Shinobu had a hard time figuring out if Miyagi was actually serious or not and therefore, did not know how to react. The twisting of Shinobu's facial features made Miyagi laugh.

"I'm kidding, Shinobu-chin. You take things too seriously. Loosen up!" he teased, ruffling Shinobu's hair.

Shinobu scowled and made a low growl, but didn't swat away Miyagi's hand.

"I'll try to teach you whatever I know. Though we'll have to start off with extreme basic food," Miyagi stated, removing his hand from Shinobu's head. The brat didn't smile, but when those words escaped Miyagi's mouth, the man couldn't help but notice his eyes lighten up, just a little bit. "You'd make a good housewife in the future, y'know."

Shinobu's face instantly fell.

"What?" he hissed.

"Well, your eagerness for learning to cook is one thing. Your tidy apartment is another-"

"There's two major issues that defies your statement, dumb ass," Shinobu huffed, folding his arms and supporting his weight on one side. "One, I already told you that I don't ever plan on marrying. Two, even if I _did _get married, I would be a husband, not a fucking housewife. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out."

Miyagi awkwardly chuckled after hearing that. "You brat. I didn't mean it literally. You take things too seriously."

"You already said that. Do you have Alzheimer's disease, old man?"

"Do you want me to teach you to cook or not?"

"Your cooking lessens will be considered as rent for invading my house," Shinobu stated.

"Who the hell says?"

"**I **do! And if you have a problem with that, then screw you!" Shinobu yelled, stomping into his kitchen. "Now get your ass over here and teach me things!"

Miyagi slowly dragged himself over, absolutely struck dumbfounded at this boy.

"I can't believe I'm actually agreeing to tutor you, brat. You should really be grateful that I'm providing you two services in one," Miyagi muttered, placing a hand on the fridge handle. "Oh and just so you know, the chef I worked for specialized in Chinese cuisine so I hope you like Chinese food," he said.

Shinobu shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I like sushi," he mentioned. Miyagi was about to open up the fridge but flinched, thinking about what Shinobu had just said.

"... Wha? Shinobu-chin, sushi is _Japanese _food!" he huffed. "How the hell can you not know that when you yourself is full Japanese, and is even living in Japan?"

"... Oh..." was all Shinobu replied with.

Miyagi sighed and opened Shinobu's fridge, taking in at what ingredients that they had to work with. The top shelf had cabbage and the bottom had broccoli. As far as Miyagi could see, that was all the fridge consisted of.

"Why is there only cabbage and broccoli in here?" Miyagi asked.

"Broccoli was on sale last week and this week is cabbage," Shinobu replied, nonchalantly.

Miyagi slowly closed the fridge and went for the freezer on top. He opened it and was a bit relieved when the first thing he saw was a package of beef staring at him.

"At least you have some frozen meat," Miyagi said, taking it out.

"... I do?"

Miyagi sighed and said, "You should at least know what food you buy." He glanced back into the freezer, where there was only an ice cream container, sitting in the back. "I suppose you also don't realize that you have some ice cream, as well," he sighed.

Shinobu merely rocked back and forth on his two feet, staring down at the ground. Sighing, Miyagi closed the freezer and opened the fridge once again.

"We'll defrost the beef for tomorrow," Miyagi said, placing the beef on the bottom. He the took out a cabbage and some broccoli, Shinobu all the while examining every movement from the corner of his eye. "Since this is all you seem to have, we'll just make some basic cabbage and broccoli stir fry," Miyagi said. He placed the vegetables on the counter and kicked the fridge shut with his leg.

"What are we going to make tomorrow?" Shinobu asked. Miyagi liked how he used the word 'we' in that question.

"Depending on how you'll do today, we'll see. Taking things step by step is best, so if you do a good job today, maybe tomorrow we can take it up a notch and add slices of beef into it," Miyagi replied. He took a moment to glace around Shinobu's spacious kitchen before asking, "Where do you keep your knives?"

Shinobu walked over to a drawer close to where Miyagi stood and pulled it open, revealing all of his utensils. They appeared... pricey. Miyagi grabbed two large blades (since large ones were all Shinobu had) and held one out for Shinobu to take.

"Here you go, kid. You can help chop the vegetables."

"..." Shinobu took the sharp knife and approached the counter where the cabbage and broccoli sat at.

"Try not to kill yourself when using a knife," Miyagi teased, joining the brat. Shinobu scowled and slammed the knife down on the cabbage, splitting it right in half with a big _WHAM_!

"I know how to use a damn knife, old man."

"... Haven't you ever heard of a cutting board...?"

"My counters don't get scratches," Shinobu stated, rubbing the smooth counter tops.

"How much did the Dean spoil you with?"

"What?"

Miyagi slapped his forehead. "Don't you think your father gives you... a bit too much?"

"I'm not the one who asks for all of this," Shinobu said. "I even told him that he doesn't need to give me anything since they let me move out by myself and are even paying for my rent."

"Well that very selfless of you, Shinobu-chin!" Miyagi chirped, giving Shinobu a pat on the back.

"... What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Shinobu sounded deathly. The fact that he's wearing a scary glare on his face and is holding a large blade doesn't make things any better.

"What do you mean?" Miyagi cluelessly asked, eying the knife in Shinobu's hand. He could never be too careful when it comes to weird people holding knives.

"... Never mind," Shinobu finally said, returning his attention back to the vegetables. Miyagi heard Shinobu mutter something about him being too stupid to understand anything or something like that under his breath.

"Don't forget to wash the cabbage before cutting it any further," Miyagi reminded Shinobu, before he had the chance to pierce through the poor cabbage head again.

Shinobu flushed before taking the two cabbage halves in his hands.

"Half a cabbage will actually be enough for today," Miyagi said, taking one of the halves from Shinobu.

He put it back into the fridge while Shinobu washed the cabbage. Miyagi grabbed the broccoli and also washed it when Shinobu finished with the cabbage. They each returned the vegetables to the counter and Shinobu got out the skillet.

"What temperature do I use?" Shinobu asked as he placed the skillet on the stove.

"We should prep before we actually cook it so just leave it for now," Miyagi said.

Shinobu nodded and took hold of the blade once again, hovering over the vegetables. Shinobu was confidently about to pound at the cabbage but flinched when Miyagi spoke.

"You might want to slice it diagonally without using lightning speed," Miyagi said, remembering back on how Shinobu was making their lunch earlier that day. "... To avoid injury, that is. Safety is always your top priority when working in a kitchen."

"There's nothing wrong with the way I cut, you jerk," Shinobu snapped. Some people just couldn't take constructive criticism.

"I'm not saying you cut badly... It's just that it's extremely dangerous how you toyed with that knife before."

"I wasn't _toying _with it!"

"Well... maybe not, but my point is it looked dangerous so-"

"I'm not going to cut you or anything so stop being such a damn wuss!" Shinobu huffed, raising the knife above his head. He was about to slam it down on the cabbage until his wrist got caught halfway down. "Let go!"

"You brat!" Miyagi scolded, using a harsher tone. "I don't give a shit about whatever the hell happens to me. What I need to worry about is you!"

"Shut up! You're just saying that because it's your damn job!"

"Shut your fucking trap for a few seconds and listen! Look at where your goddamn hand is right now!" Miyagi snapped, pointing at Shinobu's other hand spread out all across the top of the cabbage, where he was about to slam the knife down at.

Shinobu gaped at it in sudden realization.

"If I hadn't grabbed your wrist just now, you could be missing a few fingers now, or possibly even your whole damn hand! What would you do if that were to happen? It doesn't matter how confident you are with yourself; the bottom line is, if you're not being serious and paying attention to what you're doing, you'll end up seriously hurt like how you would've been just now!" Miyagi snapped.

Shinobu couldn't do anything but stand there, completely stunned. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Instead, he felt something hard it his throat and his lips began to quiver.

Miyagi noticed the unusual silence from the boy and it began to make him worry a bit. Had he been too harsh on him? Did Shinobu hate him even more than he had already?

"Shinobu-chin?" He slowly let go of the teen's thin wrist and the kid slowly allowed it fall to his side.

"..." He didn't try to say anything because if he did, he knew his voice would crack. So instead, he placed the knife down on the counter and turned around, walking away.

Miyagi wasn't sure what was wrong (if there was one thing he can't relate to, it was kids) but he didn't try to stop the boy from locking himself in his bedroom. Right now, Shinobu must have hated him more than anything.

Miyagi picked up Shinobu's knife and examined it closer. The blade looked extremely sharp. He grabbed the cabbage and pressed the blade against it. Even though he wasn't applying very much pressure, the blade easily cut right through the cabbage.

This knife was definitely not for beginners to use. Miyagi exhaled deeply and continued to cut through the cabbage himself. He could just make dinner with Shinobu tomorrow, if the kid wanted to.

* * *

Two hours later, the sound of Shinobu's growling stomach reminded him that he was still alive. He lay there, sprawled across his bed with his head stuffed against his pillow, the whole time.

All the while, he was pondering on how he had been such a reckless, idiotic dumb ass. Groaning, he peered to the side at the time on his alarm clock. It read, _8:41 _in the evening. He plopped his head back on his pillow and continued to think back.

If he had cut his hand... it would have sucked. He didn't even know if Miyagi took note of this, but what _really _bothered Shinobu was that he had also somewhat put Miyagi in danger.

Carelessly handling that knife was one thing, but Miyagi risked his own hand without a moment's hesitation when he grabbed Shinobu's wrist. He could've missed Shinobu and accidentally grab the blade, or Shinobu could've accidentally done something without thinking, out of reflex. But right now, Miyagi could also have been badly wounded.

Did bodyguards usually risk their health for others? Not just others... but one person whom he had just met and had done nothing but criticize and use verbally abusive language? The more Shinobu thought about it... the more he felt like such a needy jerk. He hadn't even done something as little as saying he was sorry or thanking him for what he had done.

'_I wonder is he really dislikes me now?_' Shinobu thought to himself, clawing at his blanket in aggravation.

He heard his empty stomach grumble again. Shinobu agitatedly got up and ruffled his hair. He might as well eat something... and see Miyagi while he was at it.

After stretching once, he dragged himself over to the living room, where he found Miyagi watching TV, in boredom. Miyagi turned his head, when he heard faint footsteps, and noticed Shinobu standing there.

"Hey. I finished making the stir fry. It's on the counter so you can heat it in the microwave, if you're hungry," Miyagi instructed, switching off the TV.

Instead of doing what Miyagi and his tummy told him to do, Shinobu plopped down on the couch next to Miyagi, a bit closer than he intended to. Miyagi turned to look at him and Shinobu stared straight across at the blank TV screen. Well, blank except for their dark reflections.

"... I'm sorry," he finally said. He felt himself flush a bit. It wasn't often he would apologize to people, particularly because he tended to mind his own business.

"It's alright, Shinobu-chin. It's my job to keep you safe so―"

"No. For everything," Shinobu quietly said. "For thinking negative things about you, before we even get to know each other... for using those negative thoughts to form them into hurtful, abusive language... for stupidly picking pointless fights with you, whether verbal or physical ones... not even saying simple things like 'thank you' when you did kind things like treating me to lunch or teaching me to cook."

"Shinobu-chin―"

"I'm sorry I recklessly put you in danger, and didn't even listen to you when you warned me about important things."

"Hey―"

"I'm so stupid! I know nobody's perfect... not you, nor me. And everybody makes mistakes... but these were all easily preventable if I had just used my fucking head! I'm an arrogant, needy brat that can't even look after myself, and when I finally got someone to help me, all I did was abuse you. You came to help me catch this stalker because it's your job... but you've also done so much more for me because you're a kind person..."

Shinobu felt a tear slide down his cheek which was followed up by a small sniffle. He used his hand to wipe the tear away but it was soon replaced with more streaming on both sides.

"... I understand if you hate me right now. But... I'm really sorry for everything I've done. It has only been less than a day, yet I've already screwed everything up from the moment we've met. Almost everyone I've ever met has told me how intelligent I am, but at times like these, I can't help but think of how untrue that is."

"Shinobu. It's alright. I don't hate you at all, and I forgive you." Miyagi smiled warmly and placed a comforting hand on the boy's frail shoulder. "It takes a lot of courage for someone to admit and apologize for all their mistakes. It's very mature and admirable, to be honest."

Miyagi chuckled when Shinobu began to quietly sob to himself, pressing his face in his palms.

"Not many people are able to do that... or even say they're sorry while truly looking sincere about it. Not even I do that, usually. And you're right... nobody's perfect. And nobody knows everything, either. But luckily, there are different people whom we can all learn from. It hasn't been a day yet... but I feel as though I've already learned a lot from you, Shinobu-chin. And I honestly look forward to spending more days with you so we can slowly learn from each other and turn each other into better people; people whom we can be proud of being."

Shinobu slowly nodded his blonde head in his hands. Miyagi smiled and wrapped his arms around the teen and pulled him into a comforting and reassuring hug. Miyagi would never admit it but in his teenage days, whenever he used to cry, the only thing he could ask for was a nice, warm embrace from someone. And right now, Shinobu really looked like he could use one.

Shinobu hesitated to push Miyagi off, but he really wanted to try to start over. So he accepted Miyagi's warmth and continued to quietly sob into his palms, leaning against Miyagi broad chest.

That is, until they heard, _RUUUUUMBLE!_

Shinobu lifted his head and sat straight up. His cheeks flushed out of embarrassment and Miyagi merely chuckled.

"You still haven't eaten yet," Miyagi stated.

He took his arms off of Shinobu and let the boy make his way to the kitchen. He spotted the stir fry Miyagi had left for him on the counter and quickly heated it up in the microwave. It looked... tasty.

The microwave beeped, indicating that it was ready for chow down. Shinobu eagerly took it out and went over to the table where Miyagi was now sitting at. Miyagi smiled at him and the boy sat down across from him.

"Itadakimasu," Shinobu muttered before sticking some of the food into his mouth. Even though its main ingredients only consisted of cabbage and broccoli, Miyagi somewhat managed to make it taste quite good. Shinobu quickly stuffed the rest down his throat and slumped down in his seat. If only he can cook like that...

"Did you like it?" Miyagi asked Shinobu.

"Yeah," Shinobu responded.

"You look pretty tired right now. Well, you should be since you were crying earlier," Miyagi said.

"It's only nine. I'm going to stay up longer."

"You should go to bed. It doesn't matter what time it is, people need their sleep."

"Later."

"... Even after all that talk, you're still so stubborn," Miyagi sighed out.

"Shut up, old man."

"Brat."

Shinobu scowled, tiredly.

"Come on. Your eyes are all red. I'll go to sleep, too," Miyagi said.

"Fine, then."

"Good boy."

"Shut up."

"A bit grouchy are we?" Miyagi teased, while laughing.

"Shut _up_!"


	4. Milkshakes are evil

**AN: This chapter would've been updated about a week earlier but then something terrible happened and then... Well, I'll tell you about it at the end of this chapter so you can read this first :D I hope you'll like this chapter!**

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The next morning, Miyagi woke up sprawled over Shinobu's couch. He glanced at the clock hanging on Shinobu's wall which read 5:03am. He always had a habit of waking up really early. He got up from the expensive, comfy sofa and began to fold the blanket Shinobu had lent him last night. In a way, Miyagi is kind of glad Shinobu's father is so rich. Because of that, the couch he has to use as a bed is so damn comfy.

He grabbed a change of his clean uniform from his bag and changed in the bathroom after taking a thirty minute shower and then he did a few more things in the bathroom. Pretty much his everyday morning routine, except in a different person's bathroom. When he came out, it was evident that Shinobu's still asleep. Miyagi yawned deeply as he glanced down at his watch, standing outside his bathroom. 5:59— 6:00, actually.

_BEEP BEEP BEEP!_

Miyagi heard an alarm going off out of nowhere, coming from Shinobu's bedroom which was right in front of the bathroom, which is also where he stood. The loud ringing sounds are not seeming to subside.

How long is that brat going to leave it on? Suddenly, Miyagi heard an obnoxious roar of some kind and then a big _whack_! The ringing finally came to a sudden stop and Miyagi was about to head over to the kitchen until Shinobu's door seemed to smash open, revealing a groggy, sleepy teenage boy. His eyes were half open, his blonde hair was all over the place, and his cute oversized panda bear pyjamas looked all messy. The kid's eyes focused on Miyagi who smiled cheerfully.

"Morning, Shinobu-chin!"

Shinobu just mumbled something that was either 'morning' or 'horny'.

"Sleep well?"

Shinobu nodded sleepily and let out a soundless yawn against his way too long sleeve that made him slightly vibrate. He then slowly rubbed his tired little eyes with his hands, groggily looking up at Miyagi.

"... Did _you_ sleep okay...?" he murmured softly. If only the brat's always this cute, nice, and peaceful.

"Yes, your couch is very comfortable," Miyagi responded. The boy yawned once again into his sleeve.

"... I can get you a better pillow if you want," Shinobu offered, staring up at Miyagi.

"It's quite alright, really."

"But that pillow's kind of lumpy and has a hole on the bottom."

"It's a little hole and I like lumpy pillows."

"... You're weird," Shinobu muttered.

"Heh, aren't we all."

"Nope, just you," Shinobu said as if it's a well-known fact of some sort.

"... Thanks," Miyagi sighed. "Want me to make us breakfast?"

"I'll do it," Shinobu said, walking over to the kitchen. Miyagi followed close behind.

"What are you going to make exactly?" Miyagi asked. After what happened last night, Miyagi was slightly concerned.

"You'll see. Just wait at the table," Shinobu ordered.

"..." Miyagi hesitantly did as told and sat down while Shinobu disappeared into the kitchen. Miyagi rested his elbow on top of the table and rested his chin in his palm. He heard rustling of pots and pans, as if the brat's searching for something. He heard the rustling abruptly stop, then a small thump. He then heard footsteps, followed up with either the fridge or the freezer opening and closing, followed up with more footsteps.

What the hell's he trying to do? Miyagi literally jumped five feet from his seat when he heard the loud sound of a rapidly working blender. What the fuck is that kid doing? The longer the blender was on, the more and more tempted Miyagi became to bust in there and find out what he's doing.

Shinobu finally stopped the blender and Miyagi heard two quiet clinking noises then a few more noises that Miyagi couldn't quite make out. Finally, Shinobu reemerged, holding two large glasses filled with... some kind of thick, green substance.

"What... What the hell's that?" Miyagi choked out. Somehow... he didn't want to find out.

"Shake," Shinobu replied, plain and simply as he set himself down across from Miyagi. He held out one of the glasses for Miyagi to take. "It's healthy. Eat," he prompted, sipping his own glass. Miyagi took hold of the strange drink and carefully examined it's light green colour.

There were a bunch of small, darker green chunks floating around in it...

"What the hell did you put in here? All you have is cabbage and... oh, god," Miyagi moaned. "Are you _serious_?"

"You haven't even tried it yet!" Shinobu angrily growled.

"'_Yet_?'" Miyagi gawked at the teen as if he were some madman or something along the lines. The boy scowled for a moment at Miyagi then resumed engulfing his own drink. Miyagi curiously watched the brat drink his "shake". Somehow, his expression remained content as if it doesn't taste too bad.

Miyagi took another glance at his own drink and nearly vomited at the sight. It seems as though all the dark green bits that were previously swimming around all floated to the top of the glass to form a mutant, filthy green blanket covering the rest of the contents.

He poked at it with his bare finger and watched in total disgust as it bounced back and stuck to his finger. Underneath all the green stuff on the surface, was a layer of thick green foam, probably made from the vanilla ice cream Shinobu used. Miyagi withdrew his finger back and stared at the green bits it had collected from poking at it.

Somehow, they were staring back at him, smiling... No, smirking. They're smirking at him, looking like the little devils they are. Miyagi frowned at them when they began to laugh at him, as if they're mocking him. Che! No vile food bits are going to make a mockery out of him!

Miyagi gave them a childish raspberry before scraping them off at the side of his glass. He chuckled with satisfaction at their drowning laughs that were replaced with bubbling gurgles and cries for help as they slid down and hit the foam which appeared to engulf them whole and—

"Dumb ass!" Shinobu yelled all of a sudden, making Miyagi jump back to reality. "You're acting like a finicky five year old toddler the way you're acting. Quit playing with it and eat it!" Shinobu scowled. "God, _fucking old people!_" Shinobu ended off with a growling huff.

"But, Shinobu-chin-"

"No 'buts'! You're a grown fucking man now hurry up and take it like one!" Shinobu yelled, nearly finished his own drink.

"... But they're laughing at me!"

"The hell? Who's laughing at you?"

"The little green... never mind," Miyagi sighed. Seeing this kid's food all the time will eventually make him go crazy sooner or later.

"That's what I thought you said. Now eat! I have to go to school, you know!"

"Oh, yeah... Kids have school, I forgot..." Miyagi mumbled, lifting his cabbage and broccoli milkshake to his nose to sniff. It had a faint smell of broccoli that wavers around his nose when he inhales the scent. "What school do you go to?" he asked, wondering if he really should try the shake out.

"T Uni," Shinobu replied.

"Hmm... That's impressive. I've heard that only smart people go there."

"I guess but... It's no big deal for me. The entrance exams were basically a joke, in my opinion," Shinobu mumbled.

"Do you study lots?"

"Rarely."

"I see..." So Shinobu's one of those naturally smart people. Miyagi unconsciously took a sip of Shinobu's drink, which he nearly spluttered out. It tastes... ten times worse than how it looks... and that's no exaggeration.

He slowly swallowed it with much difficulty and wheezed as he gawked at the nasty drink. The recipe should be chopped up into no less than a hundred pieces. Then each piece should be sent to a different country, locked up in it's own chamber where guards are constantly present to shoot down those who want to recreate the recipe.

"What the hell's wrong?" Shinobu asked, feeling slightly insulted but more infuriated at Miyagi's expression.

"Have your taste buds died? This shit's _terrible_!" Miyagi exclaimed.

"It's not bad so fuck you!" Shinobu shouted, shooting up from his seat. He's obviously hurt. He sounds more upset than he's ever heard Shinobu before. "I'm so damn sorry for not being a chef, you bastard! Now you can have fun with that 'cause I'm going to go get changed!" he exclaimed, storming off into his room.

"Wait, Shino-" Miyagi got cut off when he heard Shinobu's door slam shut. Miyagi greatly sighed. Why does that brat constantly take things too seriously? Miyagi didn't intend to make the kid upset by it... though he _was_ telling the truth when he said that it's terrible.

Miyagi looked down at his drink and sighed once more.

"Looks like it's just you and me... stop laughing at me, you little shits," Miyagi told his drink which sat there, unresponsive.

* * *

"Damn that stupid cop!" Shinobu grumbled to himself as he tossed some clothes messily on his bed.

'Should be fucking grateful that I gave up some of my ice cream to create his damn drink... even though I only realized that I even have ice cream when he pointed it out yesterday.' He frustratedly undid the buttons on his panda bear pyjamas and let his shirt slide off his arms and onto the ground around his ankles. The half naked boy kicked them out of the way, then he heard a knock on his bedroom door. He groaned as he made his way over to open it.

'It's probably that damn cop... Er, whatever the hell his name is,' Shinobu thought to himself, only now realizing that he hasn't a clue of what that guy's real name is. He was always calling him things like 'old man' so the cop's real name completely slipped from his memory.

Shinobu roughly pulled yanked the door open, revealing the guy Shinobu had most expected. The older man was holding onto an empty glass and had his mouth full of something which he soon engulfed with a look of disgust of his face.

"There," he panted, holding the glass out for Shinobu to see. "I've finished it. All of it! So don't be angry about what I said before." Shinobu continued to stare at him, mind completely elsewhere. This guy, who's staying at Shinobu's house for who knows how longs, Shinobu doesn't even know who he is.

"Shinobu-chin, you should put a shirt on before answering to anyone," Miyagi sighed. Shinobu remained unresponsive. He lets the guy see him topless but he doesn't even know his damn name. It sort of irritated Shinobu in a way that pissed his off.

"Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked, noticing the awkward silence and creepy stare.

"Who are you?" Shinobu asked out of nowhere.

"Who... am I?" Miyagi repeated the stupid question.

"Yeah, what's your name?"

"'Old man,'" Miyagi joked, causing Shinobu to groan.

"What the hell is it?"

"I'm kidding, brat. Like I've said before when I first introduced myself, I'm Yoh Miyagi. But you can call me 'Miyagi-sama.'"

"No way, dummy," Shinobu huffed. 'So he's Miyagi? A dull name... but he's a dull guy so it's all good,' Shinobu thought to himself.

"You're still calling me mean names. What's the point of asking for my real name if you're not even going to call me by it?"

"I was curious," Shinobu responded.

"... Right... Well, anyways, I wanted to ask you something earlier but then you left," Miyagi began.

"What is it?"

"Last night, was there any signs of the stalker? You said before that you'd feel like you're being watched when he's there."

"No. There wasn't anything last night," Shinobu stated.

"Oh, I see."

"Only some tapping on my window right before I went to bed, but I figured that it's just some branches from a tree so I ignored it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Miyagi looked past Shinobu's head and stared at the window, full of question. Shinobu's curtains were covering his view of outside so he couldn't see anything. "Mind if I look outside?" Miyagi asked.

"... Go ahead," Shinobu said, oblivious as to why Miyagi would want to check outside when there's nothing there... and nothing is exactly what Miyagi found.

"Shinobu-chin, there's no trees out here," Miyagi stated. "How could those tapping noises that you heard have been branches when there's none out here? And it wasn't even windy last night, either," Miyagi said.

"... Oh..." Shinobu said. Man, does he feel _dumb_.

"Are you sure you're a student at T Uni?" Miyagi asked, walking back to the door.

"You jerk! Of course I am!" Shinobu huffed.

"Pfft! Could've fooled me," Miyagi mumbled teasingly, heading out. Shinobu responded with a low growl and slammed the door shut when Miyagi was out.

* * *

"Have a good day at school!" Miyagi merrily cheered when they reached the university.

"Ugh... That's what my father always sounded like when he used to drop me off at elementary school," Shinobu moaned as he stepped out of the vehicle. He hated the memory of it.

"Oh..." Miyagi paused. "Have a good day at school!" the insensitive bastard repeated. Shinobu scowled before running off inside.

Now... Miyagi's free to do whatever. They agreed to meet for lunch everyday but for now, Miyagi's totally free. But even so, he doesn't know what to do with himself. First, he began flipping through the radio but nothing interesting was on. Then he tried bothering, I mean, _chatting_ with his good friend, Hiroki, who was also a cop.

As usual, unfortunately, Hiroki hung up on Miyagi, telling him to leave him alone and do his own work. So that's when Miyagi decided to drive around town, looking for something to do. He looked to the side at each shop or building he's pass by.

The cinema... Takes too long.

Supermarket... It'd probably be best to go with Shinobu.

Pet shop... There's cute animals there but there's no point in just looking at them.

Bowling arena... No fun in going alone.

Miyagi sighed. 'Dammit, I wish Shinobu-chin's here,' Miyagi thought, actually surprised at himself for wanting the brat's company. That's when Miyagi spotted a store that sells kitchenware. Shinobu needs some things from there...

Miyagi parked his car and walked inside. When the cashier lady saw Miyagi, she immediately stiffened her posture.

"Is there anything wring, officer?" she asked awkwardly. If there's one thing Miyagi hates about his job, it's that people never act like themselves around him, while he's wearing his uniform.

"Nothing's wrong. I just want to get a few things for... a friend," Miyagi said with a friendly smile. But Shinobu was different when they met.

"Oh... Can I help you find anything?" she asked.

"I'll be fine on my own, thanks."

She gave a sheepish smile as Miyagi wondered off into the shop. 'The first thing I should get is probably some knives more suited for a kid like him...' Miyagi told himself, entering an isle full of utensils. They have everything here.

Forks, knives.

Small forks, small knives.

Large forks, large knives.

They even have spoons!

Miyagi glanced at all the different brands and sizes as he determined which would be best for a shrimp like Shinobu. He decided to get some butter knives since Shinobu doesn't have any and then he had trouble deciding between two brands of cutting knives.

One brand said, 'Japan's best cutting knives,' and the other said, 'Japan's most trusted knives'... A difficult and heavy decision to make, honestly.

So after playing a quick game of 'eenie meenie miney moe,' Miyagi chose to get 'Japan's most trusted knives', which included six knives in total; three for eating with and three for cooking with. Next, Miyagi looked around until he found some cutting boards— something the brat also needs.

There wasn't that big of a selection of cutting boards to choose from this time so Miyagi quickly grabbed two. One of them is just plain wood, which Miyagi decided would be for meat, and the other was also wood, except with a picture of a bowl of fruit carved on the bottom, which Miyagi decided it would be for vegetables.

He took a quick stroll around the rest of the store before realizing that that's all Shinobu needs, as far as Miyagi knows, that is. After paying for the stuff at the register, Miyagi stepped back into his car and drove off in search of something else to do to entertain himself.

* * *

Shinobu laid on his desk, starring outside the window, completely rock-bottom bored at whatever the hell his law teacher's blabbing on about. The only thing Shinobu could classify this stuff as is common sense.

_BAM!_

"Takatsuki-san!" Mori-sensei exclaimed, slamming Shinobu's desk with a ruler, merely inches away from Shinobu's head. Shinobu didn't flinch, nor did he make any response; he's so used to this. "You're in class for a reason now pay attention for once! You're lucky I don't kick you out each day!"

Shinobu groggily sat up from his daydreaming and looked up at his scowling forty-something year-old sensei. "It wouldn't matter if you do that or not. I'd easily get 100 percent on everything, anyways."

"Don't be so cocky. Now open your books and take down the notes like everyone else," Mori-sensei scolded, crossing his arms. Shinobu rested his head on his palm and yawned, glancing out the window again.

"Not necessary." Shinobu would much rather stare at the parking lot outside. Nothing ever happens out there but at least he gets more action from a bird flying by than how Mori-sensei teaches. His angry sensei grumbled something under his breath before resuming his lecture. Shinobu was about to doze off to sleep until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Psst! Shinobu!" Shinobu heard his buddy whisper. Shinobu turned his head to see his friend, Teru, grinning at him with his never-ending smile smudged on his face. "Wanna hang out with me at lunch today? I can get you a smoothie at the cafeteria," Teru cheerfully offered. They haven't been friends for very long— probably a few weeks— but they always get along with each other when they hang out.

"Sorry. I already promised someone that I'll eat lunch with them," Shinobu responded, sensing slight disappointment from his friend.

"Aww... How about tomorrow?"

"Sorry..." Damn, how can he explain this? "I have to spend lunch with this person every lunch now. I don't exactly want to but it's apparently for the best."

"Huh? Forever?" Teru bellowed.

"Takatsuki-san! Hayashi-san! Shut your yaps and pay attention!" Mori-sensei scolded at them. Shinobu didn't bother to even pretend that he's paying attention while Teru snapped his head to the front of the class.

"It won't be forever but I don't know how long it'll be. Sorry, Teru," Shinobu whispered.

"It's alright. I understand... No need to apologize," Teru whispered back, not turning his head around. Shinobu laid his head back down on his hand and resumed his usual routine of wasting class time by staring off into the parking lot.

Shinobu blinked when he noticed a familiar-looking police car with a familiar-looking driver park in an empty parking space. The man inside stepped out of his car and leaned against it as he swiftly took out a cigarette and lighter.

'Damn bastard! Loitering at the back of a school and puffing on your cancer sticks! Are cops even supposed to do that? Why the hell is he even here so early? It's not even-'

Shinobu's thoughts got interrupted by the lunch bell ringing. He gawked at his expensive watch that dangles loosely around his thin wrist. It indicated at him that it actually_ is _lunch time.

"I'll see you later, Shinobu," Teru said over the rustling noises being produced by other classmates who're all eager to get the hell out of there.

"Later," Shinobu replied as the cheerful one left. Shinobu grabbed his shoulder bag and put his books (that haven't even been opened that day) inside of it. He slung it over his shoulder as he power-walked his way out the door.

* * *

Miyagi didn't even bother turning his head around when he heard the brat call out for him... Or rather, the 'old man' that is apparently in Miyagi's direction.

"Oi!" Shinobu called once more before finally reaching him. The kid was panting slightly, indicating that he has been running to get to him. Shinobu's glare caught Miyagi's eye as he continued to puff his smelly drug. "What's wrong with you? I was calling you, you bastard!" Shinobu whined up at the taller man before him.

Miyagi was about to say something but Shinobu wasn't done complaining yet.

"And stop smoking! You're a cop! You're supposed to be good! How do you people even enjoy puffing on that stuff, anyways? They smell terrible!"

"Shino-"

"Gimme one! I want to try," he demanded, placing his head out. Miyagi sighed then dropped his cigarette on the ground. He crushed the death stick with his foot, eyes locked onto the boy's.

"Don't." Shinobu's brow raised at the serious tone used on that one word. "It's not worth it. Now what should we do for lunch?" Miyagi asked, successfully ending their conversation.

"I... uh..." Shinobu usually buys lunch at the cafeteria at the school.

"Are you hungry?" Miyagi asked, opening the passenger's seat for Shinobu to get into. Shinobu nodded, noticing how his milkshake has taken it's toll already.

He got into the car and Miyagi slammed the door shut for Shinobu before he made his way to the driver's seat.

"So the other day," Miyagi began. "I was flipping through the channels on TV and I saw a commercial about McDonald's. It said that kids like McDonald's so you want to go there?" Miyagi asked, trying to suppress a laugh.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Shinobu demanded.

"Ha, ha! Okay, then. Where do you want to go instead?"

"..." Shinobu paused for a second. "... McDonald's," he mumbled.

"Wow, the commercial's right," Miyagi merrily chirped as he started the car. "Normally you wouldn't be able to believe a thing they say in those types of adds."

"Shut up!" Shinobu huffed. "I'm not a damn kid! I just want something from there."

"And that is?"

"That thing they give in their Happy Meals," Shinobu said, flushing from the embarrassment of it all.

"Are you serious? Happy Meals are for kids! Although... that's probably why you're getting it." Miyagi chuckled, running a red light.

"Fuck you! I only want the panda thing!" Shinobu let out a sighing growl when he caught a glimpse of a confused sideways glance from Miyagi as if he were thinking, 'Damn, what the hell's wrong with you?'

"Damn, what the hell's wrong with you?" Miyagi asked, as if analyzing Shinobu's inner thoughts. Kind of creepy in a way. Miyagi hesitated to smoke another cigarette. He reached into his pocket where the box and lighter is then slowly placed his hand back on the steering wheel, fighting back against his urges.

"Ugh..." Shinobu groaned. "I don't like McDonald's or anything like that. It's just that right now, there's three different plushies: A moustache panda, a duckie, and a bear. I want the panda," he stated.

"... And why...?" Somehow a mini panda plushie with a moustache on it doesn't seem like the most glamourous thing a rich kid would want.

"BECAUSE THEY'RE AWESOME, OKAY?" Shinobu fumed out of embarrassment.

"Whatever you say, then," Miyagi chuckled.

* * *

**AN: Okay, I hope you liked chapter 4 :D Like I said earlier, it would've been updated about a week ago but my computer completely broke. It was terrible. It was such an ordinary, Sunday morning that I spent at church, and then I came back home, where my dad informed me that the computer broke. I thought it was fixable, but apparently not. That's why, we got this new computer a couple of days ago.**

**So, everything I previously had on my other computer is gone. Which really sucked because the whole week, I had to redo a bunch of projects that was due a day before the computer broke. Now, I'm getting late marks for those projects and I had to go the to library to do them. It's times like these that I'm so glad that I write each of my fics on paper before I type them out. If it weren't for that, then this chapter would've also been lost. Then I'd have to rewrite it based on memory... which would've taken a LONG time.**

**So yeah, there's my sorrowful, sappy story. XD**

**Please review! I'd greatly appreciate it! Especially after such a stressful week I had to endure. Seriously, it really sucked. I didn't have time for anything... not even reading fanfic (which I couldn't anyways since I didn't have any computer) but yeah, reviews are love!**


	5. Rapists

**AN: Sorry for the wait! I hope you'll like this chapter. And thanks for all of the kind reviews! They do a fine job of keeping me motivated :D Oh, and I hope you guys know enough about McDonald's to know whatever this chapter will talk about. Only need to know basic things like Happy Meals and Big Mac's. Just a heads up for what to expect in this chapter. ^^**

**Disclaimer: I just realized that I forgot to put a disclaimer for a few of my previous chapters so this one will be for all of them. I do not own Junjou Romantica or anything to do with Junjou Romantica. There we go :D**

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* * *

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"... They gave me the wrong one," Shinobu grumbled, holding up a small, stuffed duck in his hand.

"Does it really matter? It's still... uh... cute?" Miyagi awkwardly said. Are these little toys supposed to be considered 'cute'?

"The panda's the whole reason why we came to this dump. It wouldn't feel right walking out without it," Shinobu said, tossing the wrapped toy on their tray. Miyagi's brow twitched.

'Dump? It's not _that_ bad here, is it?' Besides the fact that there's a crying baby beside them, they were served by a cranky lady, it's overly crowded due to lunch hour, and screaming kids are ruining the, supposed to be, peaceful atmosphere. Being here kind of reminds Miyagi why he stopped going to fast food restaurants in the first place.

"You can do without the panda, Shinobu-chin. C'mon, eat up!" Miyagi prompted, pushing the Happy Meal closer to him. It'll amuse him to see a eighteen year old teenager eating a Happy Meal at McDonald's.

"Do you think I should complain?" Shinobu asked, not really paying much attention to Miyagi's orders.

"... About the duck?"

"No shit, smart ass," Shinobu grumbled. Miyagi decided to ignore that this time.

"No, they're busy. Look at the line-up over there," Miyagi said, gesturing to over where the storefront workers are. "They'll only find it to be an annoyance."

"So? The lady was a bitch to us so who cares if we bother her?" When Shinobu and Miyagi ordered their food, a mean worker kept on patronizing them since she believed that Happy Meals should be for kids.

"That's not very nice," Miyagi sighed.

"Besides..." Shinobu pointed to a table a little ways away from them. "The kid at that table got the panda," he pointed out.

"But he-"

"I'm going to complain," Shinobu said as he shot out of his seat. Before Miyagi could say anything to stop him, Shinobu was already well on his way toward the counter.

Damn rich kids.

Miyagi calmly got up and went over to the end of a long line-up where the brat is.

"Do you really have to do this? Maybe we can come back tomorrow and try again," Miyagi offered.

"I'd rather die than come back again," the determined teen huffed and the line moved up a bit.

"Why? Don't you like McDonald's?"

"The clown guy creeps me out. You never see him without a stupid grin on his face and he always wants to lure kids over. He's a pedophile."

"Hah? Ronald McDonald? Come on, now. He just likes kids, that's all!"

"Look at that!" Shinobu pointed at a bench with a plastic, life-sized statue of Ronald McDonald sitting on it.

"... What about it?"

"Look at his position. He has his arm spread out beside him as if he wants to molest anyone who dares to sit next to him and he knows that kids would most likely want to sit on his lap, so he can at least close his legs! That stupid smile doesn't help things out, either," Shinobu huffed, face grimacing more and more as each word slipped from his lips.

Miyagi just stared at the inanimate figure sitting atop the otherwise empty bench. The more he stared, the more Shinobu's words seemed to appear true. Then a little boy, maybe about 5 years old, climbed onto Ronald's lap and began to play on it.

It looked... sick.

It was like Ronald _really_ likes that kid on his lap. Of course, the little boy was completely oblivious and the statue isn't even alive, but...

"Ugh!" Miyagi groaned. "Why the hell did you have to fuc- I mean, mess up my mind? Now I'll never be able to look at him the same way I used to!"

"I'm glad you see things my way," Shinobu hissed, approvingly. They're now near the front of the line-up and Miyagi thinks that Shinobu just might have some kind of ability to turn him crazy... or at least mentally fuck up his mind in weird ways. Like someday he'll be able to completely control Miyagi. Just the thought of that could torment Miyagi for days. No. It _will_ torment Miyagi for days... or at least until he can finally go home again.

"Next!" the storefront lady yakked impatiently. Shinobu stepped forward, with Miyagi right beside, and he put the plastic-wrapped duck on the counter.

"Can I exchange this for a panda, please?" Shinobu asked politely. So he's polite with others but not with Miyagi. That's definitely enlightening.

"Hrm? You get what you got, kiddo," she grumbled to him.

"I'd rather have the panda," Shinobu hissed with narrowed eyes. Somehow, Miyagi doesn't like the way this is heading.

"We ain't got no more pandas. Next customer!"

"Oi," Shinobu said. "I'm not done yet. Geez, what ever happened to good customer service?" Shinobu grumbled.

"Shinobu-chin!" Miyagi exclaimed. Though he's trying to keep himself from chuckling at Shinobu's insane bluntness.

"I'm _not_ giving you a panda so _please_ leave," she barked with scary-looking eyes.

"Shinobu-chin, I think we should leave it at that. She mentioned earlier that there's no more pandas so-"

"She's lying, obviously." That's when another worker happened to step in. Maybe a manager or someone of a higher position.

"What's going on here?" the new lady asked. She seems nicer, judging from the tone of her voice.

"This customer is refusing to leave, mam," the grubby one grumbled.

"You can take the next customer while I deal with this one, alright?" the nicer one offered. The mean one nodded, then went on with performing her horrible customer service with the other poor souls. "Now what can I do for you gentlemen?" she asked, flashing her pearly, white smile.

"Can I exchange this for the panda, please?" Shinobu asked once again, pointing at the duck sitting on the counter. The lady chuckled before she picked it up.

"Certainly. Please excuse me for a moment," she told him before disappearing to somewhere in the back. Shinobu nudged Miyagi with his elbow in the gut.

"I told you that bitch was lying," Shinobu said much louder than necessary. Miyagi quickly covered the brat's mouth with his hand before Shinobu could say anything else. Miyagi could just sense a furious aura coming from the 'bitch' that's only on the other side of the narrow counter.

"Don't say things like that," he said. "There's kids here so save that talk for home." Maybe he should've told him to not to say things like that at all... but heck. Miyagi doesn't really like the lady, either. Shinobu nodded and Miyagi let go of his mouth when the lady returned with the item Shinobu was looking for.

"Here you go!" she exclaimed as she happily handed the toy to Shinobu. "That was the very last panda we had in there. You're very lucky you got it in time," she said.

"Thank you very much," Shinobu said, trying to ignore the deathly glares from the 'bitch'.

"Let's hurry up and eat now. You won't want to be late for T Uni," Miyagi said, tugging the back of Shinobu's shirt.

"I can be late," Shinobu said as they walked back to their table.

"That's a terrible attitude. You want to keep your grades up don't you?" Miyagi asked. They quickly sat down and Miyagi grabbed his Big Mac while Shinobu grabbed the paper bag with his Happy Meal inside.

"They'll always stay up," Shinobu said, grabbing a tiny cheese burger out of the bag. He looked at Miyagi then gawked at the much bigger burger in his hands. "Wha? Why the hell do you get an actual meal while I get this tiny, little thing?" Shinobu exclaimed in a huff.

"It goes like this," Miyagi began. "You're a little guy so you get a little burger. Now since I'm a big guy, I get a big burger. Got it?"

Shinobu merely stared at Miyagi with questioning eyes.

"What?" Miyagi asked, a bit creeped out.

Shinobu's eyes drifted lower, towards Miyagi's stomach.

"What is it?" Miyagi asked, clutching onto his stomach.

"... You're fat?" Shinobu hesitantly asked.

"Say what now?" Miyagi asked, totally dumbfounded by probably the most stupidest questions he's ever been asked.

"You just said you're 'big' so-"

"I didn't mean it like _that_! Do I even _look_ fat?"

"No, but that's why it startled me when you said it." Shinobu took a french fry and nibbled on it while Miyagi sighed and pressed his palm to his forehead.

"If that sandwich isn't enough for your big stomach, I can get you more afterwards," Miyagi offered.

"Nah, I don't want you to pamper me with stuff."

"But I don't want you to still be hungry when we leave."

"I won't be. So it's okay."

"But-"

"When I say 'it's okay', then I mean it's okay!" Shinobu snapped. He grabbed his drink and engulfed some through his straw as Miyagi awkwardly glared at the boy from behind his Big Mac. "Now eat your goddam food while I eat mine!"

"You have a foul mouth. Why don't you try to refrain yourself from using that kind of language while there's kids all around us?" Miyagi said, about to bite into his lunch.

"The tables around us are all empty. No one will hear me," Shinobu stated. Miyagi glanced around the restaurant, only now realizing that most people have already left. Until a little girl and her mother sat down at a table beside Miyagi and Shinobu, that is.

"Mommy," the little girl said with such a cute voice. "Did you get me a Happy Meal?" she asked as she climbed on top of a chair. It was almost right beside Shinobu's seat, only a gap separating them. The little girl curiously glanced up at Shinobu who didn't seem to be paying much attention to them as he chowed down his fries.

"Don't worry. Your Happy Meal's right here," the mom replied, passing the paper bag over to her daughter. The girl's face instantly lit up a thousand times brighter as she gratefully accepted it.

"Thank you, mommy!" she said, eagerly reaching into her bag. Her small hand shuffled around quite a bit before she took it out again with a small, plastic-wrapped stuffed bear in her hand. Her excitement vanished as she stared at the toy in what seemed to be utter disappointment.

"What's wrong, Mai-chan?" her mother asked the girl, noticing the sudden change of emotions once the girl got her toy.

"They gave me the wrong plushie," the little girl responded.

"Oh? Which one did you expect to receive?"

"The panda," the girl choked. She sadly placed the bear back in the bag. She looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Until something amazing happened.

"Here," Shinobu said, holding out his own stuffed panda to the girl. "You can have mine, if you'd like," Shinobu told her. The little girl gawked at Shinobu then at the toy in his hand. A large smile spread across her small face as she happily took the panda away from Shinobu.

"What do you say, Mai-chan?" her mother asked, gratefully smiling at Shinobu.

"Thank you!" the girl exclaimed, tearing the plastic off the panda so she can hug it better.

"You're welcome," Shinobu blankly responded before turning away to finish his lunch. It was obviously a very nice thing for a brat like Shinobu to do... but somehow, something seemed a bit odd about it, though Miyagi couldn't figure out what it is right now. Shinobu looked up at Miyagi who was just sitting and staring at Shinobu.

"What?" Shinobu huffed in annoyance.

Miyagi sheepishly chuckled before saying, "Nothing." Right now, all Miyagi wants to do is tease Shinobu about what he just did but he'll save that for when they're alone again.

* * *

"Looks like _someone_ has a soft spot for little kids," Miyagi chuckled the second Shinobu closed the door shut to the car.

"Shut up," Shinobu grumbled.

"I always thought your heart must've been made of permanently frozen ice since you're consistently cold. But it looks like it melts with the sweet, loving presence of children."

"That's not it!"

"Hm? You don't like kids?"

"Ugh..."

"Is that a 'ugh' yes or a 'ugh' no?"

"It's a 'ugh' _neither_!" Shinobu snarled.

"Then why'd you give up your precious panda for a little girl who you don't even know?"

"..."

"Hah? Don't tell me you're using gifts so you can lure helpless little girls over to you so you can trap them while they're defenceless and then-"

"THAT'S NOT IT!" Shinobu yelled so loudly, Miyagi could've gone deaf. "That's disgusting! Pervert! Pedo! Rapist! How the hell can you even_ think_ of things that vile and sickening?" Miyagi laughed awkwardly to himself. So now he's _rapist_?

"Ever since a certain someone began to fill my head up with weird accusations of Ronald McDonald."

"What you accused me of just now and what I accused him of earlier are two _completely _different things!" Shinobu snapped.

"How are they any different?"

"Because...!"

"Because...?"

"Because... Just drive you sick bastard!"

"Heh, looks like I'm not the only rapist here," Miyagi teased. Not once has anyone ever called Miyagi something like a rapist. The fact that Shinobu just did is hilarious to Miyagi.

"_You're_ the rapist! You probably have an unknown chamber somewhere underground, where boys and girls of all sorts of ages are randomly and mercilessly being raped by you!" Shinobu paused for a second before exclaiming, "You're a _pimp_!" At this, Miyagi just laughed so damn hard to himself. He gripped the steering wheel as he let his wholehearted laughter spill out of his system.

"Hahaha!"

"I'm serious!" Shinobu exclaimed, a hundred percent solemn about the whole matter. This only increased Miyagi's laughter as Miyagi began to feel his eyes water a little.

"Stop laughing! It all makes perfect sense!" Shinobu frowned furthermore as the older man's laughter would not subside. "You molest children and teenagers! That's why nobody's catching or even getting suspicious of you! You're a cop!" Shinobu exclaimed, thankful that Miyagi's not driving right now. Miyagi reached over to ruffle Shinobu's soft, blonde head. His laughter slowly began to settle down into soft chuckles until he was able to speak normally.

"You... Shinobu-chin..." he chuckled once more before saying, " You know, I've misjudged you before. I'm beginning to really like you!" he told the teen, wiping a tear away.

"Wha? Bastard! Don't add me to your collection of play things!" Shinobu snapped, feeling his face slowly heat up at Miyagi's statement.

"I adore your sense of humour," Miyagi teased, finally starting up the vehicle.

"Well I adore _nothing_ about you," Shinobu huffed, folding his arms.

"Well that's good. I wouldn't want you to rape me."

"I should be saying the same thing to you!"

"No, don't you remember? I have an underground chamber where I have plenty of little boys and girls to molest. What would I want from a loud and obnoxious brat like you when I already have all I need?"

"So you can sell me off to other perverts like you so you can earn cash off of me."

"Hmm... I don't know of many people who would want to pay for a eighteen year old who still likes toys from McDonald's," Miyagi said, driving onto the road.

"There's absolutely _nothing_ wrong with wanting a certain plushie from McDonald's!"

"Is that so?"

"Of course!"

"Even when you're eighteen years old?"

"Of course!"

"Who's attending a university for smart people only?"

"Of course!"

"I doubt it," Miyagi sighed.

"Screw you," Shinobu groaned, sinking down into his seat.

"Haha, no thanks," Miyagi teased with much amusement.

"I didn't mean _literally_! Were you dropped on the head as a baby?"

"Not that I know of... but maybe," Miyagi honestly replied.

"... Most likely in that case," Shinobu silently muttered to himself as they soon reached the university again.

"What?"

"Nothing," Shinobu quickly said, opening the door again. Miyagi stared, puzzled, as the boy stepped out of his car. "Later," Shinobu called as he ran off back to university.

The bell rang just seconds after the boy disappeared behind the doors. Miyagi sighed while he stretched his arms out in front of him. It's back to this again. Just him and his cop car.

He spent about 10 minutes sitting there and tapping on the steering wheel with his fingers. He then glanced at his watch, indicating that what seemed like hours was actually mere minutes. He groaned as he let his arms drop to his sides. Be blinked when he felt his left hand hit something hard. He looked over beside his seat and realized that Shinobu had forgotten his shoulder bag in the car. He grabbed it in his arms and stared at it.

Should he return it or snoop through it?

The answer's _too_ obvious...

Snoop through it, of course!

He glanced around to make sure nobody's watching before he carefully unzipped it and looked at the few notebooks inside.

'It's times like these when I wonder how I ever got myself a job as a police officer,' Miyagi thought as he took one of the notebooks out. He opened it to... _something. _Whatever it is, it's definitely not notes. Well, I guess you can call it notes depending how you look at it, but it's not the kind of notes a typical smart student would take down. They're more like random scribbles to himself and weird paragraphs or sentences that are all spread out on the page. He decided to read one.

_My god, this dam class is so fukin boring. No1 even needs 2 no dis shyt. All common sense but teh stoopid teacher acts leik its sumtin important. Fkin grade skoolers cud understand it!_

Miyagi chuckled to himself after reading that. Just how did Shinobu get into this school, anyways? He read a few more things that brat had scribbled down which all seemed to mainly emphasize how boring his class is. Then he read,

_cabbages r yucky... but i eat it anyways_

Miyagi thought that was kind of twisted. The brat's fridge is mainly filled with cabbages, which Shinobu doesn't even seem to mind, but here he states that cabbages are yucky. What a _weird_ kid. How the hell did his boss raise Shinobu? Then Miyagi found something written in English a few pages later.

_Haha Mori-sensei has a boner 2day_

Miyagi began laughing for a good three minutes before he decided to actually go and return it. It doesn't seem like Shinobu really uses it for anything important but maybe today will be a first. He quickly gathered Shinobu's stuff back in the bag then made his way inside the building, where the first thing he saw was an office. The man inside the office turned his head up when he heard the door open and stiffened, like how everyone else always does, when he noticed Miyagi enter.

"Hello, officer," he said as Miyagi went up to him.

"Hey," Miyagi responded with a smile. "I need to see a student here if that's alright," he told the guy.

"Did one of our students do anything wrong?" he asked, probably only worried about the school's reputation.

"Nah, I just need to give him something," Miyagi said.

"Oh... In that case, I can call him over on the PA if you'd like me to," the man said, holding up a phone to his ear.

"Thank you," Miyagi said.

"What's the student's name?"

"Shinobu-chin."

"..." The man hesitated. "... Shinobu-chin?"

"Yeah. He'll know who you're talking about," Miyagi said with a smirk.

Why not embarrass him?

* * *

After finishing a pop quiz his teacher randomly decided to give on the stuff Shinobu had ignored this morning, Shinobu dropped his pencil down and slumped back in his seat. Too easy. He glanced around the class at all the people still writing and noticed that he's the first one who finished... again. His law teacher noticed the quick finish so he decided to come over.

He grabbed Shinobu quiz and scanned over it using his small, baggy eyes. He frowned before silently grumbling, "You're lucky." Shinobu felt like sticking his tongue out at him as he walked back to his desk. The whole class was completely silent, making it way too boring.

'Might as well daydream,' Shinobu thought... Too bad he doesn't have anything to daydream about, though.

But there is something that Shinobu noticed that he's thinking about more than he should be. Something that bastard said earlier. 'I'm beginning to really like you!'

It kind of relived Shinobu when Miyagi told him that. Because now he knows that even after everything that has happened, Miyagi doesn't hold anything bad against him. It's like he can just completely act like himself with having to worry if Miyagi hates him or is starting to dislike him. Shinobu's not too much like a kid to not know whether or not he really dislikes a person or not. He's big enough to acknowledge that fact that he _does_ like the jerk. Even if it's only a little teenie, tiny bit, he knows that he enjoys having Miyagi's company.

A lot of the friends Shinobu previously have made never really acted normal around Shinobu. They were all intimidated by either two things: his intelligence or his money. Shinobu also fears that soon his friend Teru will also do the same.

But it's fun to have stupid and open conversations with Miyagi. Even though the majority of them are made of teasing and making fun of each other.

Suddenly, an announcement broke the dead silence in the classroom.

_BING BING! "SHINOBU-CHIN CAN YOU PLEASE COME DOWN TO THE OFFICE? SHINOBU-CHIN TO THE OFFICE, PLEASE! THANK YOU!"_

Shinobu expected that to be the end of it but suddenly, there was more, though it was fainter.

"_SHINOBU-CHIN~? I NEED TO SEE YOU! YOU FORGOT YOUR BAG SO I CAME TO GIVE IT TO YOU! YOU CAN THANK ME LATER SO-"_

Miyagi's annoying yapping got cut off when the principal probably hung up.

Shinobu's jaw nearly fell off as everyone slowly turned their heads towards him. After a few seconds of extremely awkward silence, the class completely broke up in a huge laughing fit. Even the usually grumpy teacher was laughing.

Despite the whole class laughing at him, Shinobu felt more pissed than embarrassed. If it wasn't against the law, Shinobu would strangle that bastard without any hesitation, whatsoever.

"I'll be back," Shinobu muttered into the air as he hurriedly scrambled out of the class. He nearly ran the whole way down to the office and when he finally got there, the jerk was just standing there and smiling big and wide as if nothing's wrong.

Everything's all lollipops, rainbows, and unicorns.

"Idiot!" Shinobu exclaimed, stomping in front of him. "The hell was _that_? Why'd you call me over the PA?"

"You forgot your bag, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi merrily told the little scowling boy. "It doesn't look like you write anything good in there, but I thought I should return it, just in case," Miyagi said as he held it out for Shinobu.

"You looked in it?" Shinobu angrily exclaimed, snatching his bag back.

"Heh, you're a pretty bad student," Miyagi remarked, ruffling Shinobu's hair.

"Ugh..." Shinobu groaned heavily before saying, "I don't even need my bag. And if I did, I'd come out can get it myself."

"How would you know if I'm there or not?"

"Idiot. I can see your car perfectly clear when I look out the window. Sometimes I can see you inside, too."

"Hah? You should've told me! I would've waved or something at you!"

"Oh god... please don't." The last thing Shinobu would want is for him to attract more attention from his classmates. Just like on the PA just now. Which reminds Shinobu...

"You're a dick for making the principal call me 'Shinobu-chin' for the whole damn school to hear! And even worse, your damn blubbering when he was finished!" Shinobu scolded in a big huff. Good thing they're standing further away from the office so nobody can hear them.

"No need to worry, no one will think any less of you... and if they do, don't blame me."

"Who else is there to blame?"

Miyagi meekly pointed at Shinobu's bag. "Sometimes, inanimate objects aren't as inanimate as one may think," Miyagi told him.

"..." Shinobu glared at Miyagi, completely unsure as to what he's getting at. "Huh?"

"It's your bag's fault for slipping off your arm."

Shinobu slapped his face with his hand. "Putting the blame on non-living things? You're terrible."

"I know. But you are, too." Miyagi smiled as Shinobu grimaced. "I'll see you after your class," Miyagi said.

"Hah?"

"You're missing class right now. Better get a move on," Miyagi said, lightly pushing Shinobu's shoulder in the direction he came from.

"Can't we stay here longer? I don't want to go back to class. Besides, everyone else is doing a quiz right now so I'm not missing anything!"

"You should do the quiz, too."

"I finished it first."

"That's impressive. Now go back and wait for everyone else to finish," Miyagi said. Shinobu just rocked back and forth on his two feet.

"... Fine. See ya," Shinobu grumbled before heading back to class. Miyagi waved good bye before he walked back out of the building.

* * *

**AN: Here you go. Sorry for the abrupt ending but I wanted to finish it quick so I can have it posted now so I can go do my homework. So yeah. I don't have much else to say o.o Oh yeah, I hope you all have seen those benches with Ronald McDonald sitting on it in McDonald's. If you haven't, you can go to Google Images and type in "McDonald's bench." It'll be the first one.**

**Please review to keep me rolling.**


	6. Possibly Given up

**AN: Woot long chapter! Here's chapter 6 for you guys ^^ I hope you'll like it since I had fun writing it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica or anything to do with Junjou Romantica!**

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* * *

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Three weeks went by since they've met. Shinobu's consistent gloominess noticeably reduced over the small period of time Miyagi has been there. He still never ever let up even the smallest of smiles but his tone of voice and actions makes it evident enough that he thinks of Miyagi as a friend instead of some cop barging into his house.

It's hard to tell, but he seems most happy when he greets Miyagi after school and when they cook dinner together. Shinobu's cooking is very slowly improving and he showed the most cutest expression when Miyagi gave him the things he bought for cooking. First his cheeks turned pink, then he awkwardly grimaced, then his face softened while his face turned from pink to red, then he finally accepted then knives and cutting boards while muttering, "Thank you."

Shinobu also successfully made a batch of cabbage stir fry (they ran out of broccoli) without burning it for the first time, just yesterday. Miyagi congratulated him with a big bear hug that Shinobu attempted to squirm out of. In the end though, he only hugged him back since Miyagi threatened to keep squeezing the life out of him unless he earns a hug in return. During the couple of weeks, Miyagi also showed Shinobu how to properly cook beef, which they've added into the stir fry. Shinobu tried to take over a few times but Miyagi doesn't trust him with it yet.

Miyagi is sitting on the couch, watching some cooking show with Shinobu. It's a pretty boring show but Shinobu insisted they watch it. Even so, every time Miyagi glanced next to him, Shinobu didn't even seem very interested. Brat. It's nearing midnight; they should go to sleep soon.

Miyagi's boredom got relieved when he feels his cellphone rumble in his pocket. He swiftly reaches into his pants pocket and flips it open.

"Hello?" he asked.

"_Hello, officer Miyagi_." It's his boss. "_How are you doing with Shinobu?_"

"We're doing okay, thanks," Miyagi said. Shinobu turned his head sideways and watched as Miyagi spoke with his father.

"_Found the criminal yet_?"

"Actually..." Miyagi sighed. "He hasn't made any appearance in quite some time now," Miyagi answered truthfully. Ever since Shinobu heard tapping on his window that one night after Miyagi arrived, the stalker hasn't made any sign.

"_I see then. It's been roughly three weeks since your arrival, correct?_"

"That's right..."

"_Well, I'm beginning to think he will cease to disturb Shinobu any longer. He's probably given up by now since he is no longer around anymore."_

"Is that so?"

"_As long as I'm concerned, yes. That's why you can come back to the police station and receive more challenging jobs like you used to, if you'd like. I know you'd much rather spring into action than wait around for an annoyance who may not even show up any more," _his boss said.

"Thank you, sir. But in case he really is still wanting something to do with Shinobu-chin, I think I'd like to stay around a little longer," Miyagi said, causing Shinobu to raise a brow.

"_Ah... I don't think that would be any problem for now. But we will probably need your assistance some time soon... But I'll give you a call when we really do need you back," _he said.

"Got it. I'll let you know if anything happens over here," Miyagi said.

"_Thank you, Miyagi. Bye then,_" his boss said before hanging up. Miyagi also shut his phone off. The moment he did, Shinobu was tugging on his sleeve.

"Was that my father?" the blonde kid asked.

"Yup. Did you want to talk to him?"

"What did he say?" Shinobu asked, ignoring Miyagi's question.

"He said that I can come back to the station now," Miyagi replied.

"Now?"

"No, I'm going to stick around for a couple of more days. Just in case."

"Oh." Shinobu stood up and turned the TV off. "I'm going to bed now. Night," he muttered as he wondered off into his room.

"Night, Shinobu-chin."

That night, they went to bed without another word.

* * *

"... Ngh..." Miyagi moaned as he woke up the next morning. He rubbed his sleepy eyes before he glanced at Shinobu's clock. It's 5:13 am. He yawned and stretched his arms into the air before he got up and went to the bathroom. He took a very quick shower, brushed his teeth, combed his hair, and used the toilet to let nature do what it has to do. He then went back to the living room and neatly folded Shinobu's blankets before heading to the kitchen to make breakfast.

About five minutes later, Shinobu got up as Miyagi was finished making bacon and eggs (they went shopping to buy more food; like a normal fridge). As Shinobu did what he had to do in the bathroom, Miyagi was reading through the paper while he ate.

Shinobu finally returned and sat down across from Miyagi. Miyagi didn't bothering looking and as he said, "Morning, Shinobu-chin."

Shinobu merely groaned. He stared at the food sitting in front of him but he didn't really feel an appetite to eat this morning.

When Miyagi found nothing really interesting in the paper, Miyagi set it aside and noticed that Shinobu's not even touching his breakfast.

"Eat up, Shinobu-chin. Breakfast's very important, y'know."

Shinobu hesitated but he slowly sat up straight and took hold of his fork. He brought it to his food but he didn't do much with it. Instead, he set the fork down again before muttering, "... I'm not hungry."

"What? Don't tell me you don't like bacon. You ate it yesterday," Miyagi mentioned. Then he noticed that Shinobu's breathing a little heavy this morning. Also, his face looks a bit flushed. "Are you okay? You seem different," Miyagi said, actually getting slightly worried about him.

Shinobu closed his tired, grey eyes before exhaling deeply. As he reopened them, he quietly said, "I'm fine."

"You sure don't look fine. What's wrong?"

"... I'm fine," he breathed heavily. He was staring down at his lap the whole while.

Miyagi frowned before getting up and going over to the boy. Shinobu flinched when Miyagi brought his hand up to his sweaty forehead. Miyagi's eyes shot wide open at how hot it is. He brought his other hand to his own forehead and noticed the significant difference in temperature.

"You idiot! You got yourself a fever, obviously. I can just feel you burning up," Miyagi exclaimed.

"I'm perfectly healthy!"

"Come on, you should be in bed. You don't want it to get any worse," Miyagi said, withdrawing his hand away from the sick boy and himself.

"I have to get to school."

"You're staying home today. You need to have your rest," Miyagi firmly told him.

"But-"

"Don't push yourself. Get into bed," Miyagi scolded. He sounds like Shinobu's father right now.

They stood and sat there, glaring at each other in silence until Shinobu's coughing interrupted. Miyagi's grim expression turned into a worried one as he placed a hand on the boy's head.

"Shinobu-chin, I don't want you to be sick. You might as well try your best to get yourself better so things can be normal again.

Shinobu meekly and tiredly nodded his head before finally standing up. Miyagi guided him back into his bedroom and tucked Shinobu in. He grabbed a chair and sat beside his bed as Shinobu got comfortable on his back. He held on blankets over half his face and his small fingers were peeking out front under the sheets as they securely curled themselves around the blanket's edges.

"Where do you keep your thermometer? We should check your temperature."

"Does it really matter what it is? We already know I'm sick so what's the point?"

"To know how sick you really are," Miyagi responded.

"Sick enough to stay home from school, according to you," Shinobu huffed. His voice sounds muffled from under his warm, fuzzy blankets.

Miyagi sighed before saying, "Rest now. Call me if you need anything; I'll be in the living room so-"

"I'm not tired."

"Well you look and sound tired, which is enough evidence that you _are_ tired," Miyagi said.

"Well I don't _feel_ tired so that means that I'm _not_ tired!" Shinobu huffed.

"You're difficult," Miyagi grumbled. "Even though you a somehow got yourself a fever, you still act like a stubborn brat."

"... Shut up." Shinobu's hands tightly gripped his blankets as he coughed into them. It pains Miyagi to see such an energetic kids energy get drained away from something like a cold or flu. A person's youth should be spent having fun and being at school, not dying in bed.

"Since your face is burning up, I'll get you a cool, wet cloth to place over your forehead," Miyagi offered, about to stand up from his sitting position.

"I don't want it."

"Why the hell not?" he exclaimed.

"I just don't want it," Shinobu huffed, closing his eyes and turning his head the other way.

"So... what do you want then?"

"I don't know," Shinobu murmured.

"Are you thirsty?"

"..." Shinobu turned his head back towards Miyagi. "... A little."

"In that case, I'll get you some water so-"

"Never mind," Shinobu quickly stated. Miyagi's brow twitched as he ran his fingers through his hair.

"The hell? Are you thirsty or not? Which one is it?"

"I'm not thirsty," Shinobu quietly responded.

"Liar."

"I'm not thirsty!" Shinobu huffed louder. What the hell is this brat trying to do?

"Want me to bring some food over?" Miyagi asked.

"No."

"Want me to dash to the store and get you some-"

"No."

Miyagi smirked. He's starting to get it now. "Want some medicine?" Miyagi asked.

Shinobu shook his head.

"Look, if you don't want me to go then just say so," Miyagi bluntly told him.

"Then don't go," Shinobu mumbled into the blankets, averting his gaze towards the other side. That raised Miyagi's brow. He expected Shinobu to put up more of a fuss than just bluntly admitting it. They remained there in silence for a moment until Miyagi finally spoke.

"TV?"

"Nah."

"I don't have to go anywhere to turn it on," Miyagi said, gesturing at the large TV planted on Shinobu's wall.

"Nothing good's ever on during the day."

"So what should we do then?"

"Just talk to me," Shinobu said. He pulled the blankets up more to cover his faint, little blush.

"About what?"

Shinobu frowned. "Anything, obviously."

"Okay then..." Damn, he doesn't know what to talk about around sick brats. "Well... uh... How's school?"

"I said talk to me, not make me talk to you," Shinobu huffed.

"Fussy little..." Miyagi decided not to finish that sentence. "So... um... I heard that drinking lots of fluids are good for you when you're sick... and, uh... The weather forecast said it should be sunny for the next few days so I guess that's good... And... um..."

"Listening to you is more boring than being in school," Shinobu grumbled.

"Then why don't you just rest so you can actually get better?"

"I told you. I'm not tired."

"Sleeping is better than just sitting here, isn't it?"

"No." Shinobu coughed in his sleeve. "Because if I fall asleep, you've leave me."

"You know, I'm starting to think I should really consider taking you to the hospital," Miyagi said.

"Huh? Why?"

"The way you're acting isn't like you at all. Usually you wouldn't care less if I'm here or not."

"Shut up. I'm normal." Shinobu's voice is beginning to sound hoarse.

"Please go to sleep, Shinobu-chin. You're going to get sicker if you don't."

"No."

"I promise I won't leave..." Miyagi sighed before looking Shinobu in the eyes and saying, "I just want you to get better."

"I wouldn't be able to see or hear you if I'm sleeping." Shinobu cleared his sore throat. "That's why, even if you are here, it would be exactly the same to me if you're gone."

"..." Miyagi doesn't know what to say. "You're too stubborn. How'd you get sick in the first place?"

Shinobu shrugged.

"Any of your blankets slip off while you were asleep last night?"

"I barely slept at all last night."

"What the hell were you doing then?" Miyagi exclaimed.

"Nothing," Shinobu mumbled before letting out a yawn, which he tried to cover up with his blankets.

"Why'd you just stay up and do nothing?"

"Shinobu frowned before slumping over on his other side, turning his back to Miyagi. "None of your damn business," he grumbled into the wall.

"Stressed over something?" Miyagi guessed.

"... I guess."

"Something about school?" Miyagi guessed again.

"No."

"Girl problems?"

"No."

"Then what?"

"None of your business," Shinobu said it so quietly, it almost came out as a whisper.

Miyagi sighed. Shinobu's so difficult to deal with. Miyagi abruptly stood up from his seat and went towards the door. Hearing his footsteps, Shinobu quickly flipped himself around to face him.

"Where are you going?" Shinobu exclaimed. His large, grey eyes were wide with concern when Miyagi placed a hand on the doorknob.

"I'm going to make you some soup. You haven't eaten yet and you're refusing to sleep," Miyagi said.

"I don't want it!" Shinobu exclaimed, shooting up into a straight, sitting position on his bed.

"You will by the time it's finished," Miyagi sighed, twisting the knob and opening the door. "Now lie down and rest like a good boy."

"_Miyagi!_" Shinobu yelled all of a sudden. That alone stopped Miyagi dead in his tracks.

That was... absolutely the _first_ time that brat has _ever_ called his by his real name. Miyagi turned his head around and saw Shinobu's stiffened position. His eyes were enough for Miyagi to see that Shinobu doesn't want him to leave even for a second. He turned back around and sat back down where he previously sat at.

He never realized how warm he made his chair; just like how he never realized how much his presence means to the kid with him right now. Miyagi grabbed Shinobu's upper arm and gently pulled it downwards, motioning for him to lie back down, which Shinobu did with hesitation.

Miyagi pulled the covers back over Shinobu's small body and used his other hand to pet his hair. His forehead's still burning. His cheeks are still over excessively shaded with a dark pink tint. Keep on going this way, and he'll never get better. If Miyagi doesn't want that, he can't be nice anymore.

"You have two options," Miyagi said. "Either I stay here while you sleep, or I leave for a little bit and make you food, take your temperature, cool your head, give you medicine, et cetera. What will it be?" Miyagi's hand left Shinobu's head and rested over his own lap. Shinobu frowned, clearly not likely any of the two options. He opened his mouth, as if he were going to say something, then closed it again.

After sharply inhaling, he looked Miyagi in the eyes and told him, "I want you here... so I'll sleep."

Miyagi smiled sweetly before saying, "Sweet dreams." Though he's surprised that Shinobu passed off the second option. If it were Miyagi, he'd much rather get spoiled and pampered than sleep. Or maybe Shinobu finally realized how tired he is after staying up the night.

"But I'll only sleep if you're here," Shinobu said.

"Like I said, I'll be right beside you."

"Then hold my hand," Shinobu whispered. Miyagi saw his little hand wriggle out beside him and his palm loosely opened up. "That way, you can't get away even if you try to."

"When I say I'll be here, I'll be right here. I wouldn't lie to you." Miyagi placed a hand on Shinobu's and held it firmly. He smiled when the tips of Shinobu's fingers gently curled around Miyagi's hand.

"If I wake up and you're not here, I won't forgive you." Shinobu murmured into his blanket. His eyes looked like lead as his eyelids fell halfway over them.

"Sweet dreams." Miyagi watched Shinobu's tired eyes finally close and a look of peace rested up upon his face. Within mere minutes, Miyagi felt Shinobu's fingers loosen up completely and he knew Shinobu's innocent soul has drifted off into his own little world of slumber, leaving what's left of him for Miyagi to take care of.

Miyagi doesn't mind though. He'll stay. He'll definitely be there for the boy. He doesn't know for how much longer, but he won't fail to watch over him. He'll be his guardian warrior.

* * *

Shinobu didn't intend to fall asleep. He only wanted to close his eyes and make Miyagi think he's sleeping. He thought it would be a challenge to keep his eyes closed, but he instead had difficulty staying awake. In the end, he fell asleep. He woke up but his eyes feel so heavy. As if his eyelids were still sleeping, they didn't want to open. That's why, he's keeping them shut, probably making Miyagi still think he's asleep.

When he first woke up, the first thing he noticed was that Miyagi's hand is still in his own. When Miyagi first placed his hand in his own, the cool touch of his skin nearly made him shiver. His skin is rougher than his own, too. Just like how you'd expect one's hands to feel like when you're paid to be gruff and tough with bad people.

When he first squeezed Shinobu's own hand, it was very firm. Shinobu tried to imitate that strong grip, but it wasn't much use. Miyagi's hand is much larger than his own. The largeness of his hand and the tight grip he used to lock their hands together completely made up for the lack of heat and rough feel. The feeling of his hand being squeezed by Miyagi started off great. Minimal complaints.

Now, who knows how much time later, the tight grip is still the same. It didn't loosen up at all, as though Miyagi has been focusing on maintaining a great grip. Either that or he just naturally has an amazing and firmly held hand. His rough skin is the same, too. Shinobu doesn't mind, though. It's been in his hand long enough for him to take no notice of it.

What has changed however, is the cool vibes that were given off. It's warm now, just like Shinobu's hand. It feels nice to have the same warmth of Miyagi's hand in his own. It's kind of like Christmas time where you sit in front of the fireplace after playing in the snow all day. You start off cold and shivering, just like how Miyagi's hand once was. But after a family member wraps a warm blanket around you, gives you hot chocolate with marshmallows, and gives you a tight hug from behind, you get a warm, fuzzy feeling throughout your whole body. Maybe that's what it's like to spend Christmas with Miyagi?

What catches Shinobu's attention the most is how Miyagi's fingers somehow ended up entwined with his own. Before he fell asleep, they were just palm on palm but now, their fingers are tangled together. Shinobu kind of likes it though. It gives him a sense of security and well-being. Which is nice. He likes Miyagi's hand. No complaints.

Suddenly, he felt a cold hand gently touch his burning forehead. Must be Miyagi's other hand. Shinobu slowly forced his eyes open again to find Miyagi slightly leaning towards him and feeling his forehead with his other hand.

"I'm sorry... Did I wake you?" Miyagi asked, taking his hand back. Shinobu slowly shook his head.

"I was already awake," he mumbled. His throat hurts when he talks; it also sounds really hoarse. Much worse than earlier this morning, actually.

"You don't sound too well. Are you at least feeling any better?"

"... Not really..." Shinobu coughed harshly into his free arm. This morning he didn't think it was much... but now he feels like pure shit.

Shinobu slowly sat himself up with his hand still in Miyagi's. With his other hand, he threw the blanket off of him and stuck his knees into the air. His body feels so hot right now, because of that damn fever he has.

"What time is it?" he asked quietly. He could've easily turned his head over to the side of his alarm clock but he wanted to talk. If his throat hurts, might as well get used to the pain, right?

"It's five past one," Miyagi replied.

"In the morning or afternoon?" Shinobu asked, as if it's not obvious enough.

"... The afternoon," Miyagi said. "Aren't you hungry? You haven't even eaten all day."

"Not really," Shinobu whispered truthfully. He always looses his appetite when he's sick.

"You sure?" Miyagi asked, noticing their hands still joined. "Oh, sorry. It seemed as though you had a dream while you were sleeping that was bothering you," Miyagi said, pulling his hand back. "When I entwined our fingers, you immediately looked at peace again so I kept it like that..." he said. "I hope you don't mind."

Shinobu placed his hands on his lap and frowned. He never remembers any of his dreams. It's as though the moment he wakes up each morning, his memories of them somehow escape from his system. It sucks.

"... I don't mind," he finally said.

Damn, it's too hot. He brought his hand up to his chest and began to fiddle with the top button of his shirt.

"... What are you doing?" Miyagi choked.

"It's too hot," Shinobu responded, moving onto the next button.

"You idiot! Don't strip!" Miyagi exclaimed, grabbing Shinobu's hand. "I don't care how warm you feel; removing your clothing will only make you sicker!"

"What's wrong? Too sexy for you?" Shinobu teased, receiving a you've-gotta-be-kidding-me look from Miyagi. "I'm kidding. I just really want to take this off," Shinobu groaned.

"You're fine with it on. If you're too hot, let me get you a cold cloth to place on your forehead."

"I don't want to lie down again," Shinobu whispered.

"Then sit up and hold it against your forehead," Miyagi said.

"I can get it myself," Shinobu said. He was about to pick himself off his bed but two large hands locked onto his shoulders and held him securely in place. Shinobu looked into Miyagi's eyes, frowned, then groaned.

"If we're going to do that, let _me_ get it for you," Miyagi told him, nice and firm.

"Fine, then. I'll just use your hand instead of the cloth," Shinobu huffed.

"Huh?" Miyagi asked. Shinobu grabbed one of Miyagi's cool hands and pressed it to his forehand. Miyagi blinked.

"This works just as good," Shinobu stated.

"The hell? After a minute, my hand's just going to get warm again," Miyagi said.

"That's why humans are built with two hands, dummy."

Miyagi sighed but went along with it anyways. They sat in silence for a small moment until Miyagi half chuckled to himself.

"This... has _got_ to be the most inconvenient way of doing this I have ever seen in my life," he said.

"Well it's _my_ way of doing it," Shinobu huffed the best be could with a sore throat.

"I really think we should fetch you a wet cloth instead," Miyagi said. His hand is already as hot as Shinobu's forehead now.

"Fine then. I want to get it though," Shinobu repeated once again.

"Stay in bed."

"But..." Shinobu paused. "I also have to pee." It's true. Nature's calling.

Miyagi pressed his forehead down to his palm and chuckled. He sighed before bringing his head back up and saying, "Alright... but make sure you come straight back here once you're done."

"You treat me like a prisoner."

"There's no way I would ever look after, take care of, cook for, or hold any prisoner's hand. Or any of the other things I've done for you.

"Hmph." Shinobu wobbly got up and stood beside Miyagi. His legs felt so achy, as though they'll give out any second. "I'll be right back," he grumbled.

"Need help?" Miyagi offered.

"Nah, I'm good." Shinobu slowly dragged himself out of the bedroom and into the bathroom across from it. After closing the door, he did his business and soaked a small face towel in cold for himself. He then took a bit of time to examine himself in the mirror. His hair is really messy, and his face is pretty flushed. His eyes also look droopier than usual.

To put it simple, he obviously doesn't look his best. He briefly brushed his blonde hair with his tired fingers. It didn't help much, but at least it doesn't look as messy. When he returned to his bedroom, Miyagi was standing up and stretching out his arms and fingers. Shinobu threw the face cloth at him as he closed the door. Apparently, Miyagi didn't sense it coming because it hit him splat on his face.

"Brat," Miyagi chuckled, taking the cloth in his hand. "What was that for?"

"I thought you would catch it. You know, since you're a cop and supposed to be good at that sort of thing," Shinobu said, plopping back down on his large, comfy bed.

"I _am_ good at that sort of thing," Miyagi said, pressing the cloth to the teen's forehead. "It's easier if you lay down," he said.

"I'm tired of lying down," Shinobu huffed, taking a quick glance at the clock. "... How long was I asleep for?"

"Hours," Miyagi sighed. "Probably seemed like a short period for you but when someone's forced to hold someones hand with nothing else to do, time just drags on."

"You should've woken me then! It's not like I wanted to sleep."

"_I _wanted you to sleep. I really want you to get better. Besides, it was fun watching you sleep." Miyagi chuckled as he repositioned the cloth on Shinobu's forehead. "You have a cute sleeping face."

"Fuck you," Shinobu groaned. He doesn't know if that was meant to be sarcastic or not.

Suddenly, Shinobu heard a low rumbling noise from somewhere in the room. He looked at Miyagi, who seemed to be looking for something in his pocket.

"My cellphone," Miyagi said.

Shinobu took the face cloth himself so Miyagi could have both hands.

"Hello?" Miyagi asked after flipping his vibrating cellphone on. "Hey, boss."

Muttering on the other line.

"No, not yet."

More muttering that Shinobu couldn't make out.

"Actually, I'd like a little bit longer. He caught a fever last night."

Even more muttering that's not loud enough for Shinobu to understand.

"Got it. I'll see you then. Bye." Miyagi shut his phone closed and put it in his pocket. Shinobu isn't exactly sure what that phone call was all about but from the sounds of Miyagi's responses just now, Shinobu doesn't think he'll like it.

"What... What did my father say?" Shinobu hesitantly asked.

"He said that once you get better, I'll be going back to my regular routine," Miyagi responded. Shinobu already knew that would be his answer but directly hearing it come from Miyagi, he doesn't like it.

"Are you?"

"He didn't give me much of a choice this time. I'll nurse you, take my final leave, then we can both return to normal again." Miyagi smiled. "It's just like how you wanted it to be, Shinobu-chin."

"..." Shinobu's head slowly hung low and he gently placed the face towel on his lap. 'Not really,' is want he wants to say but he didn't feel much like saying it.

"... Isn't that what you want?" Miyagi asked, placing a hand on Shinobu's head.

"... Not really," Shinobu finally admitted. "Can't you stay longer? That guy will get me when you leave."

"He hasn't shown up in a while, Shinobu-chin. I think he's done," Miyagi said. Shinobu slapped Miyagi's hand off his head and looked him dead in the eyes, shooting the most solemn look he's capable of.

"He's not done. Neither are you, you damn ass hole."

"How can you be so sure?"

"'Cause..." Damn, he doesn't have a response to that. "... Anyways, stay here! Give me a bit more time and I'll find him doing something again!"

"And how are you going to do that?"

"If I stay up each night, I'll eventually see him," Shinobu stated with determination.

Miyagi sighed before asking, "Is that how you got sick?" Actually, it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"Hm?"

"You mentioned earlier that you stayed up all night. You weren't waiting for the stalker to show up, were you?" Miyagi asked, running a hand through Shinobu's bangs. Not many people understand Shinobu; the fact that Miyagi can see right through him at times sucks. He'd rather be solid than transparent.

"What wrong with that?" Shinobu huffed.

"Well, it got you sick for one thing. It was also a complete waste of time and-"

"Shut up."

"Besides, even if you did see him, I would've been close by to catch him right? And if that were to be the case, then I'd leave anyways since I would have completed my task. So there was completely no point."

"No, I would've looked at him, then he'd look at me, then he'd run away because he knows I saw him, then I'd tell you about it in the morning," Shinobu proudly stated. A plan like_ that_ cannot fail.

"Do you even care what he wants with you? What if he decided to smash through your window and try to strangle or stab you? What would you do then?" Miyagi exclaimed.

"_That's_ when I would've called you over," Shinobu said.

"What if he used a gun and killed you in an instant?"

"Then you would have heard the gunshot then come over."

"But you'd be _dead_."

"..." Shinobu groaned. "... Well that's why you should stay here with me! To make sure things like that _doesn't_ happen!" Shinobu huffed.

"Sorry, but that's your daddy's decision. If it were up to me, I'd stay longer. But I can't," Miyagi said, drowning Shinobu's hopes. His disappointed face scrunched up in anger... and defeat.

"M... M-Miyagi," Shinobu stammered. It feels really weird calling him by his real name instead of something disrespectful. "Make me food. I'm a little hungry now," he quickly demanded.

"Don't want me here anymore?"

"... I don't care," Shinobu quietly responded. Before he just wanted to spend as much time as he could with Miyagi since he knew his father would probably need him back soon. But since Miyagi's leaving for sure now, it doesn't matter anymore. He'll go back into living alone.

"I'll be right back, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi said as he closed the door behind him.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Miyagi returned with a tray of steamy hot soup, some liquid medicine, and a spoon. He placed it on a small nightstand beside Shinobu's bed and sat down once again.

"Took you long enough," Shinobu grumbled.

"Well excuse me for making sure it'll taste to your liking," Miyagi grumbled back. "It's really hot so you might want to wait a bit for it to cool down."

"Mm hmm." Shinobu let out a quiet yawn made from sheer boredom as he watched the steam rise out of the soup. "What kind of soup is this?"

"Just some chicken soup," Miyagi responded. "No cabbage."

"How boring," Shinobu sighed. He took the spoon and dipped it into the bowl, drawing some soup out of it. He lightly blew on it until he knew it cooled down enough then he ate it. As usual, Miyagi's cooking is tasty. Soon it'll be back to the usual cabbage and pumpkin routine.

He moaned so quietly that only he could just barely hear it as he engulfed more of his soup... and more... and more. The hot temperature didn't even bother him as he glugged it down, savouring the taste at some points but chugging it down most of the time.

Shinobu was wondering why Miyagi was being so quiet and when he looked up at his bodyguard, he nearly jumped back at Miyagi's intense stare right at him. Was he staring at him like that the whole time he was eating? He doesn't look mad... more like he's deep in thought about something. Maybe something serious?

"W-what is it?" Shinobu asked. Miyagi continued to stare at him then sighed after an awkward few seconds.

"I was just thinking," he said. "About what we were talking about earlier."

"You mean about-"

"Me leaving..." Miyagi said. He averted his gaze sideways, particularly at nothing. "... Making you more vulnerable to that bastard."

Shinobu blinked.

"I have no idea what he wants with a brat like you, but I wouldn't want him anywhere near you anyways."

"What are you getting at?"

"Well I've been thinking," he said once again. "The reason why he's not showing up might not be because he's given up. I'm pretty sure he knows that I'm here waiting for his appearance. He's probably just trying to be cautious."

"Well if that's true, then if you leave he'll definitely come back," Shinobu said.

"I know. I'm going to talk to your father and convince him to keep me here longer. There's really nothing I can do that none of the other officer's can't do so they shouldn't really need me unless there's something really big," Miyagi said. "After that and when you're better, we'll make a trip my to place and grab some of my normal clothing instead of me wearing my uniform and making it too obvious."

"You wear normal clothing?" Shinobu asked, dumbfounded. All the while Miyagi was staying with him, he's never seen Miyagi wear anything but his uniform. Even when he goes to sleep, he slips into an outfit that's the same colour as his uniform and has those things sewn onto it that his uniform has. Sure he changes and washes his clothes often, but when he does he just uses another spare uniform from out of nowhere.

"Of course I do. I'm only human," Miyagi sighed.

"But he'll still know there's someone with me even if you blend in."

"Yes, but I won't look like someone who can bust him if he makes any move. I'll look like a friend or someone not important."

"You_ aren't_ anyone important," Shinobu huffed.

"Lots of people think I am. Including your daddy, brat."

"My mom does too... But that doesn't mean I do also."

"You will when I prevent that stalking from killing you," Miyagi said.

Shinobu shrugged.

We'll just have to see.

* * *

**AN: Hm... I wonder if this is a good chapter. I suddenly jumped them up to three weeks later. Mainly because I have nothing to write that would occupy that time. But yeah I hope you liked it. I think it turned out pretty longer than the other chapters.**

**Please review and give me any feedback. Constructive criticism is also good so I can learn off of it.**


	7. Surprise Visit

**AN: Sweet! I'm able to update this chapter on my birthday :D Finally 15.**

**Warning: May contain SPOILERS for the play Romeo and Juliet!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Junjou Romantica or anything to do with Junjou Romantica.**

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* * *

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In his living room stood Shinobu. Less than half a foot away from him stood Miyagi. The teen's grey eyes was gazing down at the floor, examining the small distance of space separating them. Maybe he should take a step back to create more distance between them. But what for? He doesn't mind standing so close to Miyagi, nor does Miyagi seem to mind standing so close to him.

Shinobu felt a couple of strong hands fine their way onto his shoulders; one hand for each shoulder. They locked onto him quite securely, his fingers gently rubbing the upper edges of Shinobu's back. Shinobu tilted his head upwards and looked at Miyagi. He stared into his deep, violet eyes as did Miyagi into his large, grey orbs. He watched as the edges of Miyagi's lips turned up into a smile that reeked of affection.

"Miyagi?" Shinobu asked. He felt himself be pulled closer. Right up against Miyagi. If Shinobu were to look down, he wouldn't see any space between them. Just their chests in contact.

When he felt Miyagi's arm wrap around his back, Shinobu began to think. This isn't the kind of position normal "friends" get into, is it? This is close, awkward, and maybe wrong. He knows this... but he does nothing. His arms just hang to his sides, totally unresponsive. Why won't his brain send signals to move?

"What's wrong, Shinobu?" Miyagi asked. His voice was deep— like the look in his eyes. It's also warm... Or at least that's how it makes Shinobu feel. "You're making a face like you don't like it," Miyagi said. He leaned his head down near Shinobu's ear. "Why is that?" he whispered, so husky and attractive.

Shinobu can feel his warm breath on against his neck and his arms tightly wrap around his back. This is supposed to be what _couples _do. But when he tries to make any kind of physical resistance, nothing happens. He'll try telling Miyagi how he feels.

"I..." Shinobu hesitated. He knows exactly what he wants to say, yet he hesitated. He wants to say, 'I'm not comfortable like this. So let's stop.' If he were to say that, Miyagi would get the picture. He's not a jerk so he'd definitely understand.

He'll try again but hopefully his body will correspond to his demands.

"I..." He hesitated again. "I... love you, Miyagi."

What the hell?

What was that? If Shinobu were to make a list of things he wanted to say, that would be at the very bottom. But he still said it, and now he can't take those words back, even though he completely regrets letting a lie like that slip past his lips.

Shinobu winced when he felt flesh brush so agonizingly light and feather-like on his neck. It felt kind of moist, though it was hard to tell since it was so gentle. It's probably Miyagi's lips. It could possibly be Miyagi's tongue but it didn't feel wet at all.

Then he felt the same pair of lips press themselves against his neck. Kissing it. Despite Miyagi's rough nature of being a police officer, the pecks placed on his neck are so gently and affectionate. Shinobu doesn't even know how to react even if his body would listen to him. He just stood there like a post, allowing Miyagi to take total possession of him.

When Shinobu felt those lips leave his neck, he'd hate to say this but it made him feel empty. Miyagi brought his face back in front of Shinobu's and used a hand to place over the boy's cheek. The tender strokes Shinobu felt on his cheek made his face heat up in an instant; he knew he was blushing.

"I love you too, Shinobu," Miyagi whispered to him. Shinobu's eyes grew wide as Miyagi leaned his head down and captured Shinobu's lips on his own. Shinobu felt the man's tongue slip in his mouth past his lips, and fondle with his own tongue.

Shinobu felt his hand twitch, and then rise up towards Miyagi. His arms wrapped around Miyagi's back and after a moment, his eyes closed as he felt each and every stroke of the tongue in his mouth. Great. Now not only is he letting Miyagi do weird things to him, he's pretty much inviting him in for more! Shinobu feels so dumb... but being kissed by Miyagi feels... so good.

Shinobu heard a moan come from somewhere, but he wasn't sure where it came from. He pondered for a moment, wondering if it was _his _moan, until he heard two more separate moans go off at the same time. That's when he realized it's both of them making those noises. Damn Miyagi for making him so hungry for this.

Shinobu clutched onto Miyagi's back unwillingly tighter, which only seemed to make Miyagi crave more. The kiss become more fierce than before and the speed of Miyagi's seeming-so experienced tongue increased as the man ran a hand onto the back of Shinobu's head and gently pulled him in more. Shinobu had never been kissed before, nor has he ever kissed anyone, but if Miyagi's kissing were to be rated on a scale of one to ten, he would most likely rank a solid ten, if not racing off the chart.

The passion of the man's movements is too much for Shinobu to imitate. That's why, even though Shinobu doesn't know why this is even happening, he just let Miyagi claim him all for himself.

Miyagi's lips finally parted with a light smacking noise, and then he stared down at the dazed Shinobu in front of him. Shinobu couldn't even form any words— he was too taken aback. All he could do was stare up at the gorgeous man in front of him with lustful eyes.

"I love you, Shinobu-chin. I'll never leave you no matter what. So don't worry anymore," Miyagi said, so deep. Shinobu was just barely able to nod and then Miyagi smirked and began to lean forward...

... for more.

Shinobu's eyes shot wide open as he jumped up from his laying position. He frantically turned his head in every which way, examining his surroundings. He was out of breath and panicky, but he realized that he's in his bedroom. Fucking misleading dreams. Shinobu clutched onto his head as he tried to calm himself down and maintain steady breathing.

His mind kept on racing back onto that dream. It's crystal clear in his memory, which is strange. Normally, he forgets all of his dreams... but this one, he can remember everything down to the finest detail. No... it wasn't a dream. It was a _nightmare_. Shinobu could feel his heart beating within his chest, as if it's going to jump out at any given second.

"_I love you, Shinobu-chin. I'll never leave you no matter what. So __don't worry anymore__._"

Those words kept on replaying in his head. Despite the first part of it, the rest of it kind of relaxes him. He has been worrying that Miyagi will leave, even though Miyagi already convinced his father to let him stay longer. During the last couple days recovering, Shinobu was really worried that Miyagi would abruptly change his mind.

"_... I'll never leave you no matter what..._"

Shinobu inhaled deeply then exhaled, allowing his heartbeat to return to normal.

"_... So __don't worry anymore__._"

Shinobu once read in a book that dreams often tell you something, as though they appear for a reason. If that's true, then maybe that means that what Miyagi said in it is supposed to be truthful? But if that's so... then what's up with the "I love you" part? And the kissing.

Shinobu felt himself burn around his cheeks, suddenly remembering all the passion and desire in the kiss they shared. He brought a hand up to his lips, lightly touching it. He can still remember what it felt like. The taste, feel, warmth, speed— everything. Don't perverts usually dream things like that? But he can't control what he dreams of. It's not like he _wants_ that kind of image in his head when it comes to Miyagi.

If he waits a while, hopefully he can completely forget about it. As if a dream like that never happened at all, he'll try his best not to think about it for now. He sighed as he took a glance at his clock. 9:36am.

Wait.

Shouldn't he be at school? He doesn't feel that bad today; he should be at school.

Wait.

Today's Saturday. There isn't any school today. Shinobu sighed, completely annoyed.

'After having such a stupid dream, I can't even think clearly. What the fuck's wrong with me?' he asked himself, stepping out of his room. Staring down at his feet, Shinobu entered the living room.

"Morning," Miyagi said, making Shinobu noticeably jump. "You feel better today?" Miyagi asked, sitting at the table with some newspaper in front of him.

"Y-yeah," Shinobu stuttered. The moment he looked at Miyagi, he remembered that fucking dream. It made his heart beat faster. The young teen tried to ignore it as he sat across from Miyagi, like he normally would.

"So…" Miyagi said. "If you feel well enough, how 'bout we stop by my place and grab a few things?" Miyagi offered.

"Huh? Oh… sure," Shinobu said. "I don't feel very sick anymore… so we can go wherever," he added. Miyagi smiled, which made Shinobu's heart jump. That smile looks too much like the one from his dream… which shouldn't be too surprising since it's the same man doing it. Still, it pisses Shinobu off that he's thinking so much about this and comparing every single detail of the dream Miyagi to the real Miyagi.

"I'm really glad you feel better now, Shinobu-chin. Even though you're much more troublesome, I like it a lot better when you're healthy," Miyagi happily stated.

Shinobu nodded while frowning at himself. He kept his gaze locked onto his lap, too nervous to look at Miyagi in the eyes.

"Go eat breakfast. Then we can go, if you want," Miyagi said.

Shinobu nodded again before he proceeded to the kitchen where he quickly fetched himself a batch of cereal. From there, he quickly devoured it all headed straight back to his bedroom. He changed out of his pyjamas and into a plain, white, long-sleeved shirt and some jeans. He attached a chain onto his pants, since it looks so cool, where he let it freely dangle around his thigh.

He picked up his cellphone and was about it drop it in his pocket, until he felt it vibrate in his hand. He glanced at the screen where it read, "Teru." His friend in law class. It's been a while since they've hung out together. Shinobu snapped his phone open and held it against his ear.

"Hey, Teru. What's up?" Shinobu asked, plopping down on his bed.

"_W__hy haven't you been at school lately? Are you okay?_" Teru asked.

"Oh… I was sick, actually," Shinobu responded.

"_Sick? Are you okay? You're not dying, are you_?" Teru asked. Man, what a worrywart.

"Nah, just a flu. I'm much better now," Shinobu stated.

"_Ah… That's good_," Teru said. "_You know, it's been a really long time since we're ever talked outside of class. You have plans today? Maybe we can catch a movie_."

"Actually…" Shinobu hates disappointing Teru. "I'm busy today. Me and this other dude have to do something important today. Sorry."

"_Oh…_" Teru sounds slightly disappointed. "_That's alright. Maybe some other time, I guess_."

"Hopefully."

"_Oh yeah, do you want to know what you missed while you were sick_?"

"It's okay. I never pay attention anyways," Shinobu said.

Teru chuckled. "_That's true_," he said. "_I'll hang up then. See you Monday, Shinobu_!" Teru cheerfully exclaimed.

"Mm hm. See you then," Shinobu said. They both hung up afterwards. Shinobu sighed heavily. Hanging out with Teru any time soon would probably be close to impossible when he's constantly with a bodyguard. Being away from Miyagi would be against Miyagi's job and having Miyagi tag along would be awkward for Teru and insanely boring for Miyagi.

That's why, it would be best not to see any friends outside of class. To most people, it would suck. But to Shinobu, it's not bad. He grew quite attached to Miyagi's company and he finds it hard to think of a recent time where he has disliked being with Miyagi.

* * *

It's a quiet ride to Miyagi's apartment. While Miyagi was busy concentrating on the road, Shinobu merely stared at all the passing buildings and people out the window. He got Miyagi to leave the window open to let the smell of his terrible cigarettes air out so Shinobu doesn't suffocate.

"You're awfully quiet," Miyagi said, breaking the silence.

"So are you," Shinobu shot back.

"I'm driving," Miyagi said, making a turn on the road. "It's unusual for you to be silent. You always seem to have something to complain about," he said, exhaling his drug.

"Shut up. Do you want me to complain to you?"

"Nah, I just figured something might be up since you're not talking," Miyagi said.

"I was just thinking," Shinobu mumbled.

"About?" Miyagi prompted.

Shinobu felt himself blush as he turned his head furthermore away. "A dream," he squeaked.

"Ahh…" Miyagi sighed, tossing his barely done cigarette out his window. "I get it," he said. Shinobu nervously glanced at him.

"You… get it?"

"Of course. I used to get wet dreams, too," Miyagi stated too casually.

Shinobu's little blush intensified as he said, "That's not it. I don't get those."

"What kind of dream was it then?" Miyagi asked.

"…" Damn, why'd Shinobu have to even bring this up?

"It must've been something if it caused you to shut up like this. Or are you still not feeling well?"

"I'm fine… I'd just rather not tell you," Shinobu slowly muttered.

"That's fine. I won't try to pry secrets out of you."

"…" Shinobu sat there, contemplating whether or not it's a good idea to tell Miyagi. If he were to tell Miyagi, maybe Miyagi might possibly know what something like that means. But if Shinobu were to ask Miyagi and Miyagi _doesn't_ know what it means, Miyagi would most likely consider him as crazy for visualizing something so obscure and stupid.

Heck, you'll never know unless to try.

"Um-"

"We're here," Miyagi said, cutting off what Shinobu was about to say. Shinobu curiously glanced sideways at the apartment building. He's been here before, but only once when they got some of Miyagi's stuff the first time they've met.

Before, Shinobu couldn't care less about where or what Miyagi lived in but now he sees it as a way to learn a bit more about Miyagi. Even if it's just a little.

"Let's go," Miyagi told the curious teen, stepping out of his car. They were parked in some parking space at the side of the building, instead of underground. They'll probably only be here for a few minutes.

Shinobu obediently stepped out and trailed behind Miyagi as the older man guided them to the entrance. They quickly made their way inside and unlike Shinobu's apartment, Shinobu noticed that the layout of the building is quite plain in comparison to his own apartment building. The carpet and wallpaper were also basic; only some plants and pictures used for decoration. It's not surprising though, since Miyagi isn't the type to care much for appearances, as long as it's doable.

Also unlike Shinobu's apartment, Miyagi's is on the third floor. They got inside the elevator which slowly and quietly brought them up. The atmosphere in the elevator was awkward, especially since it's just the two of them inside. Miyagi didn't seem at all bothered but Shinobu was relieved when the door finally opened to the floor they wanted.

When they left the elevator, they walked in even more silence, until Miyagi abruptly came to a halt, nearly causing Shinobu to bump into him. Miyagi searched through his pocket for his keys, and then skilfully worked the lock.

"It's been a while since I've been home," Miyagi sighed, swinging his apartment door open. The two walked in the, appearing so, barely lived-in apartment.

"…" Shinobu glanced around in every which way possible. It looked like an average apartment for a single man, though very tidy and not much is around. It's around the same size as Shinobu's apartment but has more basic furniture.

"Wait in the living room for a bit while I sort things out in my bedroom. There's not much in the kitchen, but if you see anything you like, go ahead and take it," Miyagi said before heading off into his room. It kind of disappointed Shinobu when the man closed the door behind him since Shinobu wanted to check out his room.

Hell with it, there's plenty of things he can possibly snoop through in the living room. He slowly strolled around, scanning the room for anything that might perk his interests. Unfortunately, nothing really seems to be worth looking at. If Shinobu hadn't known Miyagi was living here, he'd assume that it's just a vacant apartment that's already furnished.

Then, Shinobu noticed a small picture hanging up on the plain, white wall. It had four adults and two teenagers, roughly around Shinobu's age. The adults, consisting of two men and two women, were obviously couples from the looks of it; each man had an arm around their respective woman. The teens in the picture also looked like they could've been a couple.

It was a boy and girl holding hands in front of the adults— it bothered Shinobu.

Everyone in the photo was smiling and happy, standing in front of a beach, or so it appears. The water in the background looks gorgeous, like the teenage girl holding the teenage Miyagi's hand. Who is she? Past girlfriend? Present girlfriend? Mere friends? But if so, then why are they holding hands?

Miyagi looked quite handsome in the picture, like he'd make a good match for the girl. Shinobu sighed, completely agitated with himself.

'It's not my business. Don't patronize Miyagi about it,' Shinobu mentally scolded himself.

Shinobu heard Miyagi's bedroom door open again and Shinobu scrambled over towards him but he jumped when his eyes took notice of him stepping out. The man's wearing normal clothing. _Normal_. Not his uniform that Shinobu constantly sees him in, but normal clothes. More specifically, black.

Shinobu always thought that black clothes look _good_ on people, but this is just… What didn't help much was that the top buttons aren't even done up yet, allowing Shinobu to catch a glimpse of Miyagi's broad, smooth-looking chest.

Shinobu stood like a flabbergasted, post-like idiot while he watched with wide eyes as Miyagi reached up and fiddled with the top buttons, asking, "Do I look casual now"?

Shinobu nodded, not even stopping to think about the fact that Miyagi's not even looking at him, focusing on that damn button. The boy knows that he looks like a dork staring at Miyagi, but that didn't stop him.

When Miyagi finally finished and looked up at Shinobu, he blinked. "Are you okay?" he asked with concern.

Shinobu jumped a bit, not knowing what he meant. "Huh?"

"Your face is glowing red," Miyagi said. Shinobu's eyes widened furthermore as he gawked at Miyagi, taken aback. "You're not still sick, are you?" Miyagi reached out towards the teen's forehead but Shinobu quickly reacted and turned, facing the opposite direction to hide his beet face.

"I'm… fine…" he managed to choke out, trying to let his heart settle down.

"You sure?" Miyagi asked, reaching down to pick up a packed bag in front of him.

"I didn't… think you were going to change _now,_" Shinobu informed, feeling rather embarrassed.

Miyagi chuckled as he ruffled the boy's hair playfully, like he often does. It made Shinobu blush even more. "Well wearing this is more comfortable than the uniform. Plus I can just leave the uniform here instead of dragging it back to your place with us," Miyagi said.

Shinobu couldn't think of anything to respond with, except for explaining how good he looks in black, but he'd rather die at the moment than to get into detail with him about that manner. Might as well change the subject in this situation.

"Who was in that picture with you," he absentmindedly blurted out. He mentally slapped himself. Why does his mind speak for him when he doesn't want it to?

"Hmm? What picture?" Miyagi inquired.

"That one." Shinobu pointed at the small framed photo staring at them on the wall across from them.

"Oh, that? Well there are a _few_ people in that picture," Miyagi stated, passing by the boy. Shinobu watched Miyagi's back pass by him. He hates to say this, but for an old man, Miyagi knows how to pick the right clothing that brings out his… nice… _figure_, let's just say. Shinobu dragged himself over to join the older man as Miyagi took hold of the picture.

"These two people here are my parents," Miyagi explained, pointing to one of the older couples on Miyagi's side on the photo. "And this couple here…" Miyagi pointed at the other older couple on the girl's side of the photo. "They're my aunt and uncle," Miyagi said, making Shinobu feel his stupidity settle in.

"S-so that girl is…"

"My cousin," Miyagi finished, stealing words from Shinobu's mouth. Shinobu gaped at the photograph, only now noticing the resemblance between the two. And to think only a moment ago, he was bothered that someone might've been in a relationship with Miyagi. Something like that isn't even supposed to affect the boy in the slightest way imaginable.

"Yeah… She can be sort of bitchy at times but our parents made us hold hands," Miyagi muttered, carefully placing the picture back on the wall where it belongs.

"Hmph. Reminds me of my sister," Shinobu grumbled.

"Ahh… I forgot that you have an older sister," Miyagi mentioned. "Have any other siblings? Up until this mission, I wasn't even aware that the boss has any kids at all."

"Nope. Just the two of us." The thought of having another sibling irks Shinobu tremendously.

"Is she just as spoiled as you are?" Miyagi asked with a smirk.

"Bastard. She's not a student anymore and she's maintaining a well-paying job so my father doesn't give her much money anymore."

"Yeah? How old is she?"

"Does it matter?" Shinobu huffed. "Older than me and younger than you." Honestly, Shinobu just forgot how old she really is. "I hope you're not interested in her, old man."

"Hey, I'm just curious. I'm not even aware of what she looks like… or her exact age."

"She's young and pretty. Too young for you, in particular," Shinobu muttered.

"Maybe I can get to meet her one day," Miyagi said, tossing his bag over his shoulder. "Shall we go now? I'm pretty well done over here."

"Mm." Shinobu walked past Miyagi, opened the door, and walked out without another word. He continued down the empty hall and within seconds, heard footsteps come up from behind him and a firm hand found its way onto his shoulder.

"Now what should we do, Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked with that stupid, preppy voice of his. "It's a nice day and it's one of your precious days off school. Not to mention, you just healed from your sickness. We should have _fun_ today!" he cheered.

"You sound like a damn kid. Not even I acted like that when I was little," Shinobu grumbled, still walking with Miyagi dragging behind him.

"You _never_ smile so I'm not surprised. What should we do today?" he inquired once again.

"Anything," Shinobu huffed as they sifted into an elevator.

"You're hard to please."

"I said _anything_ so I'm fine doing anything!"

"Hmm… Okay, then." Miyagi leaned against the elevator wall, in a very masculine way, and began to stroke his chin, thinking. "What do kids like to do?"

"Same as what adults do, scratch the porn shit."

"Okay… How about a movie then?" Miyagi offered.

"Sure," Shinobu agreed. "Just as long as it's not a horror movie."

"You're scared of horror movies?" Miyagi had a surprised look on his face.

"I'm not _scared_ of them! I just hate how they're all quiet at one point while they're trying to build up shit suspense, and then they suddenly go all loud and deafening," Shinobu grumbled as the door reopened at the main floor. They both stepped out and went for the entrance.

"In other words…" Miyagi paused when he received a warning glare from Shinobu. "They scare you," he bluntly finished, nonetheless.

"They_ don't_ scare me. I just dislike watching them."

"Alright, alright. I believe you," Miyagi said, although it didn't sound too convincing at all. "No horror movies. Which movie do you want to see then?" Miyagi asked, rather playfully, seeing as he's poking at Shinobu's back.

Shinobu decided to do the adult thing and just ignore his childish behaviour as he responded, "We'll see what's playing."

* * *

They ended up watching a sappy, new remake of a romance play. Romeo and Juliet, in particular. How they decided on _that_ to watch… Shinobu has absolutely no clue. The one thing he could say about it was that it _sucked_. The movie itself was pathetic; they didn't have to hire even more pathetic actors to make the stupidity of the story even more horrendous. It dragged on and on, until it's already dark outside.

"I didn't think it was that bad," Miyagi optimistically backed it up as they walked down the long-ass hall back to Shinobu's apartment. "Wasn't it romantic the way that they died?"

"WHAT the _hell_ was romantic about it?" Shinobu exclaimed, still thinking that the movie must've been a joke.

"C'mon, you have to admit that dying with the one you love out of your own obligation is sweet," Miyagi chirped happily.

"Sure, if you're suicidal! How can you even call what was between them 'love'?" Shinobu huffed.

"Well _duhhh_! Didn't you hear all the times where they exchanged the words 'I love you' back and forth between each other?"

"They've met each other three or four times. That can't be called love. Love is supposed to be more magical, eternal, and powerful. What they felt for each other seemed much more like a sickening lust."

"Hmmmmm?" Miyagi hummed teasingly, though annoyingly. "Since when did _Shinobu-chin_ know such things about love? Don't tell me you've fallen for someone!" The bastard nudged Shinobu with his elbow in his side.

Shinobu groaned, not giving much of a response.

"_Who_ is she?" Miyagi demanded with a huge grin on his face.

"Don't be an idiot. I told you already that I don't plan on being with anyone," Shinobu huffed.

"People don't 'plan' to fall in love. It happens naturally of course!"

"I _know_ that much! I'm just saying that I'm not going to be with anyone!" Shinobu grumbled.

"You're not answering me." Miyagi said. "Who're you in love with? And don't say 'no one' because you can't understand what love is like when you haven't experienced it yourself!"

"I wouldn't tell you even if it _did_ happen," Shinobu muttered as they finally reached his apartment. He pulled his key from his pocket and stuck it in the hole.

"That's mean," Miyagi huffed, closing his tired eyes. "If _I_ ever fell in love, you'd be the first to-"

"M-Miyagi!" Shinobu gawked in horror at what was in store for him in his apartment. Miyagi took a glance over the boy's head and his eyes, too, widened.

Broken glass tainted Shinobu's carpet and the whole place was a complete wreck. They could hear a tap running from inside and there was random pieces of cotton and paper everywhere.

"A break in…" Miyagi quietly declared, reading what was printed messily on Shinobu's wall in huge, black letters.

'_I will get you one way or another_'

* * *

**AN: I'm so damn sorry for the cliff hanger. I normally hate writing them as much as I can't stand reading them, but I felt like doing this xP I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't intend to stop the chapter at this point of the story (since I hate cliff hangers) but oh well.**

**I know that Romeo and Juliet wouldn't be playing in theaters at this time, nor is there a new movie of it. But this is AU so I can make anything happen xD**

**If you want to know what happens next, please review! Also, it's my 15****th**** birthday today (yay) and the best gift I can receive are reviews! This chapter is basically like a birthday gift from me to you guys since I worked on it for the majority of yesterday in order to update it on this specific day, so return the favour and review.**


	8. Investigation

**AN: I'll save any AN for the end so you don't have to wait any longer. This chapter also wasn't edited, so sorry for any mistakes.**

**If you've forgotten what happened last chapter, Shinobu and Miyagi came back to Shinobu's apartment after Miyagi went back to his, and then they found out that Shinobu got broken into. There was a huge mess at Shinobu's place, but even worse, the stalker left a message on the wall that read, "I will get you one way or another." But before all that stuff, Shinobu had a dream (which I had a ball writing xD), and throughout the whole day, he was having issues around Miyagi. Kept on blushing around the man ^^**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica or anything to do with Junjou Romantica.**

* * *

As Shinobu stood there, gawking at his wrecked apartment, he felt the feeling of fear start to settle in. He never felt scared often, or even nervous, but especially after he read that big, black threat written on his wall, he couldn't feel any other emotion other than fear… and maybe some anger after the first few seconds.

Shinobu couldn't be any more relieved that Miyagi's there with him. A sense of comfort and support, a source of protection, and a good way for him to not feel so vulnerable. As Shinobu absorbed every ounce of the message coming from those words "I will get you one way or another," the teen closed his eyes shut, and felt his hand reach out slightly to the side in search for Miyagi's.

The boy felt even more relief and a fraction of the fear eliminated when Miyagi's hand grabbed his, using that strengthened grip Shinobu could never do himself. He glanced over at Miyagi; at the fearless, solid expression on his face. He looked pissed more than anything.

With Miyagi's other hand, Shinobu watched him reach into his pocket and take out his cellphone. With that, he snapped it open and pointed it at the horrid mess. After snapping several pictures of the apartment from where the currently stood, Miyagi lowered his cellphone again and took a slight step forward.

"Be careful of the glass," Miyagi muttered, kicking a large shard out of the way. He took a step inside, pulling Shinobu in with him. As Miyagi kicked more and more small, random pieces of glass out of the way, Shinobu glanced over to the side and saw how the bastard got in. His window got smashed through, leaving a bunch more of the glass under it.

But the glass that's away from the window and on his floor didn't look so much of window pieces. Shinobu could guess it's his plates, glasses, and whatever else that's glass and can be thrown on the ground. But also, some pictures that Shinobu once hung on the wall are broken on the floor. It made Shinobu's stomach churn.

"What do police do in these situations?" Shinobu quietly asked.

Miyagi sighed before saying, "Just check to see if there's anything missing."

Shinobu whispered, "…What if he's still here?"

They crept over to the kitchen area where they found all of Shinobu's kitchenware, mostly broken or shattered, on the floor.

"What if who's still here?" Miyagi inquired, carefully heading over to turn the running tap off. What a terrible waste of water… and plates, glasses, mugs, and other broken valuables.

Shinobu's lulled, smoky eyes scanned his kitchen and didn't exactly know how to feel. He responded, "That guy that came into here." His voice came out quieter than he intended, but it still was able to get across to Miyagi.

"Ah…" Miyagi put on a sympathetic smile and took hold of Shinobu's lone hand once again. "I don't think we'd have to worry about that. It's very chilly in here, so he must've left quite a while ago."

Shinobu gave a nod and Miyagi ruffled his hair. Even at a time like this, Shinobu felt his face heat up at Miyagi's touch. The boy turned away from his kitchen, headed in the direction of his bedroom, and dragged Miyagi along with him.

"Hey, careful of glass. I don't want you to get cut or hurt," Miyagi huffed as they approached Shinobu's bedroom.

"… The only things that I really wouldn't want wrecked are in my bedroom," Shinobu meekly informed. He stopped in front of the door and slowly pushed it open. When he flicked the light on, Shinobu stood there, a tad frightened, at the massive heap of fluffy cotton and shredded fabric.

He wondered why his expensive plasma TV had only received some minor scratches on the rim, but his bed was an absolute mess. But it's not just the mess, but anything that was on his dresser or nightstand got knocked onto the ground and, like the rest of his place, it looked like a hurricane or a tornado had hit it.

"What the hell's with all the fluff?" Miyagi scoffed, quite annoyed with the whole situation. His stormy, narrowed orbs slowly scanned the room while Shinobu slowly approached his drawers. Miyagi hasn't been into Shinobu's room very often— just a few times where he needed to see the boy or wake him up. And of course, a few days beforehand when Shinobu had fallen sick in his stupid attempt of eyeing the stalker.

Although, right now, it seemed as though what Shinobu had wanted came true and the stalker person made a move. But perhaps, that wasn't the kind of thing Shinobu had had in mind when he wanted to see the stalker.

Eyes slightly trembling, from anger or nervousness— Shinobu couldn't tell, the frazzled teen tugged the knob of the middle dresser drawer, to check for his laptop… and thankfully, there it was. He heaved a sigh of relief that his laptop hadn't even been touched.

"What'chu looking at, Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked from behind.

Shinobu stuffed his drawer back shut before responding, "It's nothing." Come to think of it, Shinobu hasn't checked for any e-mails in a while.

"Did you notice anything missing? We shouldn't stay here very long," Miyagi sighed, glancing around the floor with a hand on his hip.

Shinobu scanned the room once more, not really noticing anything missing— just messy and broken. "I don't think he took anything…"

Miyagi quirked a brow. "You sure?"

Shinobu nodded.

"Who the hell would break in without taking anything?" Miyagi grumbled, grabbing Shinobu's thin wrist.

Miyagi tugged Shinobu back out into the living room and stopped for a moment to gaze at the broken window.

"… I absolutely cannot believe how terrible this apartment's security is," Miyagi sighed, loosening his grip on Shinobu's hand. Shinobu frowned and tugged his wrist back.

"… I think they have security cameras monitoring outside…" Shinobu muttered. He shivered when a chilly breeze crept past the shattered glass still hanging around the window frame. It was nearing winter now; the weather was becoming colder.

"Really? You sure?" Miyagi inquired, turning his attention to the boy.

"Well, I think so. I briefly heard one of the owners talk about security cameras one time, so I don't know," Shinobu murmured, rubbing his arms with his somewhat warmer hands.

Miyagi watched, taking the hint. "Come." He grabbed Shinobu's hand once again to Shinobu's hidden delight. "We're going to spend the night back at my apartment. You're obviously cold right now," he said. "It won't help much if we do anything now, since he's long left here. We'll figure this out tomorrow, alright?"

"Let's just get out of here," Shinobu complained, impatiently tugging Miyagi back towards the door. Miyagi chuckled a bit, despite the situation, and stopped.

"You go gather some of your things first. Like your pyjamas or whatever else you'll need for the night," Miyagi mentioned, gesturing to get moving. Shinobu merely stood and frowned at the older man. "I don't want to lend you my pyjamas… you'd look cuter wearing your oversized, panda—"

"Shut up!" Shinobu huffed, scrambling back over to his bedroom. He got out some random bag that was left on the ground (or maybe the stalker took it out of his closet; Shinobu didn't know), and stuffed his favourite sky-blue pyjamas with moustache pandas all around it into it.

The boy gazed down at the sleepwear that was messily crumpled in his bag, and intensely blushed as he recalled the words Miyagi had spoken to him just moments earlier.

'… Does he really think I'm cute?' Shinobu began to ask himself, but quickly gotten redder from the sheer embarrassment of thinking of something so girly and utterly sickening.

He hurriedly zipped his bag closed shut and slung it over his shoulder.

'I've just gotten broken into. My mind should be occupied with things other than Miyagi,' he tried to convince himself. Although, willing or not, his heart couldn't help but flutter whenever he heard compliments from Miyagi. They've made him really happy lately.

Irritated, Shinobu stormed out of his bedroom and went to his bathroom to grab his toothbrush. His reflection from the mirror unintentionally caught his attention; his blush was completely evident.

Shinobu ignored his reflection and left his bathroom, with that scowl he always seemed to have on his face. He approached Miyagi again, not even caring is he was blushing, glowing, or whatever.

"Let's go!" he somewhat demanded, running out of patience. He noticed that Miyagi had closed the curtains, blocking the view of outside and the way the stalker came inside.

"Yeah, yeah. We're going," Miyagi sighed. "Tomorrow, I'll round up some investigators. They will check for fingerprints or blood or hair or any sort of DNA, then once we find a suspect, we can test them," Miyagi said.

Shinobu nodded. "Then what?"

"Then, if the DNA doesn't match, we'll apologize and keep searching. If it does match up…" Miyagi paused and Shinobu's eyes slightly widened as his mind registered what Miyagi was about to say. "… If it does match up, then my job's done, and I'll go."

Shinobu's eyes lowered to the ground; at a clump of cotton at his foot. He didn't say anything, but was sad that Miyagi could leave soon. He always knew that separation would come between them someday, but didn't want it to be too soon. He had only just convinced Miyagi to stay longer a few days ago, too.

"… You shouldn't… always get upset when I even talk or suggest about parting," Miyagi said. Shinobu glanced up at the man as he continued. "You and I both know that sooner or later we'll separate for good. And since his trail might be hot right now, parting could be very soon," Miyagi said.

Miyagi's words were equivalent to one thousand knife wounds to the heart to Shinobu. He searched Miyagi's face for any trace of uncertainty or doubtfulness, but as far as Shinobu could tell, the man's serious about it.

"… I…" Shinobu could feel his eyes about to well up, but he absolutely refuses to cry. Especially not for Miyagi. "I don't want to talk about this," he whispered.

"Whatever you say," Miyagi sighed. "I just don't want to be sad when—"

Miyagi's eyes lifted when he felt Shinobu's frail weight press against his own. Shinobu tightly wrapped his arms around Miyagi and rested his cheek against Miyagi's chest.

"I don't want to talk about it," he repeated a second time, even quieter than the first. He deeply indulged into Miyagi's scent of laundry detergent, cigarette smoke, and another smell that seemed to be Miyagi's own scent. He tried thinking of the Miyagi he dreamt of the previous night; the one who told him that he won't leave.

Shinobu almost sighed when he felt Miyagi return the embrace; one arm wrapped around his slim waist and the other around his shoulders. Shinobu squeezed his eyes shut. Miyagi's so warm, so strong… so kind.

"Shinobu-chin, let's get going. You're shivering," Miyagi said. He rubbed Shinobu's shoulders and said, "C'mon… it's cold in here." He loosened his grasp on Shinobu.

"Mm-hmm…" Shinobu pulled himself away from Miyagi and stared down at his feet. "I don't want investigators coming over here."

Miyagi blinked. "What? How the hell are we supposed to identify him then?"

"I don't want strangers snooping around here," Shinobu stated, not even giving Miyagi much of any eye contact.

"It's not like they're bad people. All they'll do is look for anything that might help us find out who did this."

"We can do without," Shinobu huffed. He doesn't like the sound of other people in his apartment when he's not around. Although, he's trying not to think of it as an excuse for getting Miyagi to keep working there longer. Investigators would only speed up his and Miyagi's limited time together. They would be nothing but a nuisance, in Shinobu's book.

Miyagi sighed, "Let's just leave now. It's freezing here."

Shinobu responded by huffing, snatching his bag, and heading back to his front door. Miyagi followed shortly, giving one last glance at Shinobu's apartment, before heading out and bringing the teen to his own apartment.

Whoever did this had some serious issues that they need to sort out.

* * *

"Ah… I can't believe we're back here so soon," Miyagi sighed, as both he and Shinobu walked in.

Miyagi gawked as Shinobu emitted a long-lasting, zombie-like groan from the very back of his throat, and threw himself over atop Miyagi's couch. The boy's feet hang over the edge of the couch as he squeezed a pillow against himself.

"… Of course, we're not back here for the best of reasons," Miyagi sighed. Miyagi smiled sympathetically as he approached Shinobu's side and kneeled down beside him.

He watched as the boy nuzzled soundly against Miyagi's throw pillow. Poor kid. Such an innocent boy who went out into the world to live alone by himself as he finishes university, only to catch some bastard and get broken into.

Miyagi light touched Shinobu's soft head and felt the boy shudder underneath his touch. He followed up with gentle, soothing strokes against the back of Shinobu's head. He couldn't see Shinobu's face, but Miyagi hoped that it would make Shinobu feel slightly better.

"Shinobu-chin… It's late," Miyagi announced, blinking when he noticed that Shinobu's ear had turned red.

Maybe he was cold…

"Do you want to go to sleep now?" he asked. Shinobu squeezed the pillow noticeably tighter against his face, before nodding in response.

Funny. Usually he puts up more of a fuss about going to sleep early. Although, it had been an emotionally draining day for the teen. Miyagi moved his hand lower and began petting Shinobu's back.

"You can sleep in my bed, "Miyagi offered. "I'll set up some bedding and sleep out here."

Shinobu muttered something into the pillow, but Miyagi couldn't make it out.

"… What?"

Shinobu turned his head to the side, opposite direction of Miyagi, before repeating himself. "You sleep in your own bed. I can sleep here, instead."

"No, no. A rich kid is more suited to sleep in a warm, comfy bed. It wouldn't feel right if I made you sleep elsewhere. Besides, you've been through a lot tonight. You should try to get a good sleep," Miyagi suggested.

"Old men need to take care of their bodies," Shinobu huffed. "You'll get shoulder pain if you sleep on the floor."

Miyagi's brow twitched and he swiftly wrapped an arm around Shinobu's waist before threatening, "If you don't get in there, I'll just drag you in, myself."

Shinobu squirmed into a sitting position, freeing himself from Miyagi's loose hold. Miyagi snickered at Shinobu's reddened face.

He really can be cute sometimes.

"Fine!" Shinobu finally complied. "Where's my bag?"

"You dropped it by the door," Miyagi responded, picking himself up on his feet.

He went over to Shinobu's discarded bag and tossed it to him through the air. Miyagi smirked at his insane tossing skills.

"Get ready for sleep now. We'll figure out what we're going to do tomorrow."

* * *

Shinobu couldn't sleep. He was probably lying down in Miyagi's bed for over an hour, and his eyelids were so heavy… but he just couldn't make himself fall into slumber.

There was no problem with Miyagi's bed; it was quite comfy. It was a bit smaller than his usual king-sized bed, but it was just as cozy.

Rubbing his tired eyes, Shinobu slowly sat himself up with a small groan. Maybe he could sneak out to Miyagi's living room and sleep there, closer to Miyagi.

The boy slowly planted his feet onto the floor and picked himself up. He then went over to Miyagi's closet across from him, and carefully opened it in an attempt not to make any noise. He peered inside, but it was too dark to see anything.

Annoyed, Shinobu crept over to the light switch and flicked on the light, which nearly blinded his vision; he forgot about the bright rays that would torture his eyes. He squinted while he went back to Miyagi's closet. He had seen Miyagi grab bedding from some closet in the living room, so maybe Shinobu would find some more in the closet here.

But… Shinobu didn't have such luck. He felt ironically sort of like a stalker for looking through Miyagi's stuff like that, but he felt bed for stealing Miyagi's bed and room. Shinobu frowned when he wasn't able to find anything that could be used for sleeping on, and was about to give up on his little quest, but his eyes lit up when he noticed something rolled up and sitting on the floor.

It was a sleeping bag!

Shinobu happily yanked that bundle into his arms, after grabbing his (or rather Miyagi's) pillow. A sleeping bag may not be the comfiest thing to sleep in indoors, but Shinobu decided it would give him that cozy, camp-like feel, which was good enough for him. And that was all that mattered.

As soon as Shinobu switched off the light and opened the door, he glanced around for Miyagi, and felt relieved that there's plenty of space on the floor around the man. Quietly as possible, the teen tip-toed over to the older man, and careful than ever, he laid out the sleeping bag. He made sure to leave about a meter's worth of space separating then.

He took a quick moment to glance over at Miyagi through the vast darkness, hoping that he was fast asleep, and found the man facing opposite direction of him. Despite their nearing one month's worth of time together, Shinobu had never actually seen the old man asleep before. Miyagi, for some reason, always had a tendency of waking up long before Shinobu did.

After Shinobu crawled down into his new bed, he felt much better knowing that they're both sleeping on the floor. The pang of guilt Shinobu felt before of stealing Miyagi's bed from him had completely flourished.

Purposely keeping his small back towards Miyagi, Shinobu tiredly allowed his exhausted eyes close, while he waited to drift off into dream-world.

"Couldn't sleep?" Miyagi asked out of the blue, breaking the long silence and casting Shinobu's eyelids to fall right open.

"…Miyagi… I thought you were sleeping…" Shinobu choked back.

Shinobu heard Miyagi snicker. "I'm a light sleeper. I woke up, probably around the time when you were snooping through my closet," he said.

Shinobu felt unpleasant guilt set in. "I'm sorry,,," he feebly whispered.

"Don't apologize. If it's you, I don't mind someone else looking into my things. I don't have anything to hide, anyway."

"…" Shinobu sighed. "Sorry." He didn't know what else to say.

"It doesn't matter, so stop apologizing. It's weird coming from you." After hearing no response from Shinobu, Miyagi continued. "So why'd you decide to come out here?"

"No reason."

"You're a terrible liar," Miyagi remarked. "But I guess it doesn't matter."

Silence and awkward tension filled the air. Shinobu waited briefly to see if Miyagi was going to say anything else, then began to suspect that maybe he had already fallen asleep. Disappointed, Shinobu reached up on his stomach, and stuffed his pillow into his face, in an attempt to fell asleep, whether naturally or by suffocation. Either way, it didn't matter since he knew that somebody's already after him.

"Is that sleeping bag warm enough, Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked, breaking the long silence, once again. Shinobu frantically unstuffed his face.

"Yeah," he responded. "I'm all good." It was the middle of the fall right now, and nights were getting chillier. This night was particularly not that cold, though.

"Tomorrow morning, we're going to tell your father about what happened," Miyagi stated, out of nowhere.

"But he's just going to get unnecessarily worried," Shinobu grumbled.

"And he'd have every right to get worried about you. He's your father, after all. Your mother and sister would feel the same."

"… I don't want anyone's sympathy."

Miyagi sighed. "Well get used to it," he said. "Everyone's worried about you. We want you to be safe." He paused briefly before muttering, "As for me, I'm not going to stop worrying until he's gone… and I'll know you're completely out of harm."

Shinobu felt sort of embarrassed as his face started to heat up. He tried not to think that he was blushing, but he knew perfectly well that he was. Lately, he has been blushing a lot and he found himself acting somewhat differently around Miyagi.

The feelings was new to the boy… he never felt that way around anyone. But slowly, Shinobu was beginning to understand.

"Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked silently, wondering if the boy fell asleep on him.

"Mm-hmm?"

"You know, everyone's concerned for you and wishing for your protection," Miyagi muttered. "But I've been wondering… for a while now, actually. Aren't you at all worried about yourself?"

Shinobu thought about that… thinking of a good response. He never really thought much of the whole situation and didn't think there was anything to be worried about at the beginning. But after that night, the whole mess, and that threat written on the wall, he had been proved wrong.

He'll be completely honest with Miyagi, since that would be the best response.

"I'm not worried about myself," Shinobu muttered, flushing harder. "… Because I know you're here with me. That makes me feel like there's no need for wish for protection or want to have more protection or whatever, because I already have it."

He felt so naïve and embarrassed for even thinking of it that way, but he couldn't think of any other way of putting it.

"You're a brat for thinking like that."

"I'm being honest, so shut up."

"But it's cute," Miyagi said before chuckling to himself.

"Don't call me cute," Shinobu huffed. "Men aren't supposed to be cute."

"You're not a man; you're a kid."

Shinobu scowled against the sleeping bag, which he clutched on so tightly against his face. He didn't like being called cute, because he knew he wasn't. Although… coming from Miyagi, it wasn't that bad. Compared to other people, that is.

"I'm… almost an adult. I just have a few more years to go."

"In other words, you still have a few more years of being a brat," Miyagi muttered, teasingly.

"… Jerk."

"Anyway." Miyagi took a breath. "I'll protect you from anything," he stated bluntly. "Even though you're an arrogant brat who can't even take care of himself and—"

"Shut up!" Shinobu snapped, blushing furiously embarrassed.

"Despite everything, I won't let anything or anyone touch you."

Shinobu felt his delicate heart flutter deep inside his chest. Miyagi's words were stern, which allowed Shinobu to trust him completely… as if he didn't already.

"Miyagi…"

"J-Just telling you thin now so that you know it!" Miyagi awkwardly added.

Even though Shinobu got threatened, broken into, and even got his whole place vandalized, he could still feel overjoyed. Miyagi's awkward yet sincere words might as well be medicine for Shinobu for any situation.

"Okay," he meekly responded.

"Now go to sleep," Miyagi said.

"Night, Miyagi," Shinobu murmured soundly against his fluffy pillow.

"G'night, Shinobu-chin," Shinobu he him respond.

For some reason, Shinobu felt that he was going to sleep well that night.

* * *

The two fell asleep on the floor, backs turned to one another, with a fair amount of space separating them. When they woke up, Shinobu wanted to go back to his apartment to clean up. Miyagi on the other hand, claimed it to be too dangerous for that, considering all the broken glass scattered everywhere on the floor. They bickered back and forth, but Miyagi eventually got Shinobu to give up.

That's why, they spent the next day shopping for new pillows, blankets, cups, mugs, plates— basically anything that was lost from the incident. They spent a second night sleeping at Miyagi's apartment again in the position.

Truth was, Miyagi wanted to wait until a school day and leave Shinobu's apartment untouched until then. That way, Miyagi would be able to investigate himself. Shinobu had said that he didn't want strangers to be in there snooping around, but the boy didn't say anything prohibiting Miyagi from doing it.

And even if the boy didn't want him to, Shinobu would be at school and there'd be no stopping Miyagi.

"I'm an absolute, pure genius," Miyagi told himself, driving his way to the police station after dropping Shinobu off at university.

It has been a while since he last saw his fellow coworkers and boss. Hopefully it will be a happy reunion for them all.

After all, everyone loves him.

Miyagi marched inside with a grand smile, glowing like the radiant sun. The first thing he saw when he got to his office was his comfort, joy, and total amusement.

In other words… Kamijou.

The younger man had his back turned to him and wasn't too aware of Miyagi's presence. Soon, that would change.

"Ka-mi-jou!" Miyagi wailed, flinging his strong arms around the younger man. Kamijou staggered forward, having extra weight thrown against him, and turned his head around to see who it was. Across his face came a horrified expression.

"O-Officer M-Miya… Why are YOU here?" Kamijou bellowed, struggling to pry off Miyagi's arms from around his neck.

"Don't give me that expression!" Miyagi chuckled as he squeezed his happy-pillow tighter, which didn't at all seem to please Kamijou in any way. "We haven't met in nearly a month, therefore you should be happy to see me!"

Mustering all his strength, Kamijou used a self defence technique he had learned during training session, while he was still training to become a cop. He managed to push Miyagi off... but Miyagi was a very difficult person to fight against. And after the many years Miyagi had spent mastering every technique and skill, it's no surprise.

"You've improved since I've last seen you," Miyagi commented, smiling all happy and dorky. "But there's still room for even more improvement. Let's hit the gym!"

Kamijou huffed, folding his arms, "I'm working right now." He furrowed his eyebrows and gave a frightening glare over to Miyagi.

"Yeah, I'm working right now, too."

"If you have no free time, then don't invite me to go to the gym!" Kamijou angrily exclaimed.

"I wonder if you or Shinobu-chin has the scarier glare..." Miyagi mumbled to himself, closely examining Kamijou's pissed off face.

Kamijou blinked. "... What?"

Miyagi just smiled more before responding, "Nothing." All friendly and sickening, Miyagi placed a hand on Kamijou's shoulder. Kamijou scowled and the man asked, "So, how's my Kamijou been doing this past while?"

"_Great_ until you showed up just now," Kamijou grumbled as his response. How come Miyagi heard sarcasm in his voice? "So are you done babysitting?"

Miyagi's eyes drifted to the ground. "No... Shinobu-chin's at school right now."

"Is _that_ his name?"

"Yup."

Kamijou sighed and asked, "So why exactly did you come here?"

"Where are those things?" Miyagi asked.

"What things?" Kamijou demanded, feeling a hard headache come on. How much he wished this man would hurry up and mentally grow the fuck up.

"The _things_!" Miyagi whined, not even remembering what they were even called.

Kamijou groaned, remembering what working with this guy was really like on a daily bases. He wondered what the boss ever saw in him. "What's the boss's son like?" he inquired all of a sudden. Kamijou has never met any of the boss's family before. "He's probably talented like our boss is, considering he raised him and all."

"He's _weeeaaaak_," Miyagi emphasized. "The only thing strong about him is his language."

Kamijou smirked, very pleased with this. "So you're stuck with some brat with a big mouth... Better you than me."

"You're mean. So like him," Miyagi pouted. "This world's full of meanies."

Kamijou sighed. "Okay, okay. I'm so sorry you got stuck with a client that you dislike."

Miyagi gawked at Kamijou. "I don't dislike him!" He smiled. "I really like Shinobu-chin. He a good kid... he's smart and entertaining."

"... You confuse me."

"He's mean and abusive and... mean, but it's all talk. He's really just a big softy underneath all that cheekiness."

"How do you know?" Kamijou huffed, folding his arms.

Miyagi chuckled before responding, "Because last night I found out that he's in _looooooooove_ with some chick. She must be pretty if she was able to catch Shinobu-chin's eyes." Miyagi grinned widely.

"Pfft. Looks aren't everything. She could have a good attitude and sense of humour," Kamijou sighed.

"Nah, Shinobu-chin doesn't laugh. Maybe she's just like him: mean, pushy, abusive, bratty, et cetera, et cetera."

"Doubt it. Who would love someone like that? The kid might like her because she understands him in ways others don't."

"She'd have to be Wonder Woman to be able to understand Shinobu-chin."

Kamijou blinked. "Why am I even talking about this nosy stuff with you?"

Miyagi chuckled. "Because it's called relaxing and taking a break."

Kamijou groaned, annoyed. Miyagi shouldn't be the one to tell him that when Miyagi's the one who was working 24/7 on this mission. "Whatever. I'm going back to work," Kamijou stated, turning his back away.

"Wait!" Miyagi grabbed Kamijou's shoulder. "Don't leave yet! We must catch up!"

"Catch up on _what_?" Kamijou snapped, shrugging Miyagi's hand off of him.

"Anything!"

"Do your work. You came down to this station for a reason so go do what you must do."

Miyagi kept his grip on Kamijou's shoulder as he said, "Then tell me where our boss is. I have to inform him on some things."

Kamijou groaned. "How should I know? Check his office or something."

"But I don't—"

As if on cue, the door suddenly opened and in came Shinobu's father. Talk about insane perfection in timing.

"Good morning, officer Miyagi and Kamijou-kun," he greeted, smiling merrily. "I saw you park outside, Miyagi, so I came to see how things are going. Shinobu's at school now, correct?"

Miyagi smiled naturally and nodded as Kamijou attempted to put on a fake, awkward smile for the boss.

"I came to grab a fingerprint scanner. Do you know it's whereabouts, sir?" Miyagi inquired, as Kamijou's brow twitched. So _now_ the bastard knows what he's looking for?

Kamijou grumbled, "Excuse me, but I'll take me leave now so you two can talk in private." With that, the youngest cop grabbed his coat, passed the other two, and simply left.

"A fingerprint scanner?" Shinobu's father blinked in confusion. "Do you have a suspect?"

"Not yet," Miyagi sighed. Hopefully he'll have one soon. "But your Shinobu... had his apartment broken into. Mr. Takatsuki raised a concerned brow and Miyagi continued. "We didn't notice anything missing, but Shinobu's too stubborn to want investigators to come in. That's why I decided to do it myself while he's at school.

His boss sighed, "He has always been stubborn. Must be from his mother."

Miyagi shrugged. "Possibly... but the person broke through Shinobu's window in the living room. There must be some fingerprints along the frame," he said.

Miyagi watched his boss's brow furrow all worried and concerned for Shinobu. Well, it must be tough knowing that your only son's a target. And Shinobu's father seemed like an overprotective type since he asked Miyagi to be a bodyguard before even knowing something's definitely wrong.

"... I can gather a group of investigators for you, Miyagi. You've already done so much for us already."

"No... I need something to occupy my time with anyway. Whenever Shinobu-chin's at school, I'm bored out of my skull," Miyagi said, bashfully. "Investigating this will give me a break from what I normally do."

"And what's that?"

"I help old ladies cross the street."

The older of the two officers gawked at the younger one and chuckled awkwardly. "Miyagi, you've always had a good sense of humour."

Miyagi chuckled back just as awkwardly. "It's not humour, it's truth."

"..."

To clear up the awkward tension in the room's atmosphere, Miyagi added, "B-but of course that was after I got tired of cleaning up doggy do-do down at the park..." Miyagi thought about continuing, but the totally unimpressed look on his boss's face made him think it's in his best interest not to. Instead, he nervously reached up and scratched the nape of his neck, smiling like an idiot. "Or something like that..."

"It's great that you do good things for our community," his boss said. "But I think you should relax a bit once in a while. If you work all the time, stress will get to you."

"It's fine. I'm more worried about Shinobu-chin right now than anything."

His boss nodded and frowned. "I agree. Although I completely know that you'd be capable of keeping him safe, just the idea of anyone wanting Shinobu is simply terrifying. I've heard and seen so many crimes during my lifetime, though I never would have thought any of it would ever come to Shinobu," he sighed. "That boy should just come back home with us but he keeps insisting that he's old enough to move out by himself."

"Ah..." Miyagi understood perfectly. "Shinobu-chin's very persistent about everything," he sighed, scratching his head. "But please don't worry about him too much. He's safe, as long as he has me on his side."

"That's true... but I guess, as his father, concern comes very naturally. He doesn't realize how big the world is out there... and sometimes it just seems as though he doesn't want to understand or just doesn't care to understand."

As far as Miyagi could tell, Shinobu probably just doesn't think he really _needs_ to be looking out into the world. Sure, he decided to move out all on his own, but with his spoiled protection that his father provided, Shinobu must feel as though he had a permanent shield all around him. Shinobu's little statement about being unafraid because of Miyagi only proved his theory.

But heck. Miyagi wasn't part of Shinobu's family, and therefore, knew less about the brat than his father.

"Oh yeah, you came to grab investigating materials?" his boss asked, suddenly remembering the whole reason why Miyagi came by in the first place.

"Yeah. Well, I'll just look out for fingerprints since that's all that would be necessary." More like he'll only have enough time to check for fingerprints before it would be time to pick up Shinobu. Then Shinobu would most likely nag on and on about cleaning the place up before Miyagi would finally give in. Just like how to always tended to give into the boy.

"Alright. I'll have an investigator come by and hand you what you need," he said. "Wait here a bit."

"Thank you, sir," Miyagi said while watching his boss approach the door.

Right before Takatsuki made his leave, he slightly turned his head back and smiled. "I'll see you soon, officer Miyagi."

Miyagi blinked, confused. "You, too," he responded nonetheless.

* * *

"What the fuck?" Miyagi grumbled, staring pissed at the incoherent scuffle marks left of Shinobu's window frame. He groaned, very unamused. "Don't tell me the ass hole wore gloves..."

If there was one thing Miyagi couldn't stand, it would be when people actually used their heads before committing a crime. When burglars used precautions, like wearing gloves or taking their shoes off, it only made Miyagi's job much more difficult.

Before Miyagi starting scanning for fingerprints, he had even checked for other evidence, such as blood or hair. But still, no prevail. Of course, security cameras outside would have made everything a breeze!

Security cameras...

Security...

Why was this apartment building so defenceless? It didn't have to do the extreme like fire lazers at any passing people or plant land bombs, but they should have at least had some form of security.

Whoever the landlords were seemed to spend so much money on trivial furniture and all that fancy decoration stuff, but they couldn't even spend a cent on the tenant's safety? Even when _minors_ were living alone in the building! Isn't that the landlord's top priority? Shouldn't safety be their main concern?

What happened to _responsibility_?

What happened to using your damn _head_?

Right now, it seemed as though the stupid stalker was using his head more than Shinobu's landlord. Who the hell was Shinobu's landlord, anyway?

Annoyed, Miyagi got up and was fuming before he had even realized it. With his police authority and social standing, he was going to talk to the landlords. Not just to be a jerk, but it would be much better for everyone else in the building, especially Shinobu. He still had a bit of time before Shinobu was done with school, anyway.

Miyagi slipped his fingerprint scanner in his pocket and headed out into Shinobu's long ass hallway. When he got to the front of the building, he looked around and smirked at his great luck when he saw a door. Above it read, "Office."

Miyagi confidently approached it and knocked a few times, wondering if anyone was in there, or if they were even open. Then he heard the voice of an adult from the inside, telling him to come in.

Miyagi did as told and blinked at the handsome, young man sitting behind a desk. The guy smiled quite pleasantly, which made Miyagi smile back.

"Are you the landlord?" Miyagi asked. He was expecting someone much older, not some kid who appeared to have just finished high school.

"Yes, I am," he responded. His voice was very smooth; it match with his nice looks. He had slightly long, black hair with a few bangs dangling over his sharp, navy blue eyes. "You can call me Kei, if you'd like," the guy said, gesturing for Miyagi to take a seat in front of him.

"You own this place at such a young age?" Miyagi inquired, pretty impressed, taking a seat onto the smooth chair.

Kei snickered before confessing, "I'm not exactly the landlord, actually. My parents are held accountable for that. I'm more like a manger who works for them, since they live in a different city."

"Ah..."

"So what can I do for you, sir?" Kei asked.

"One of your tenants got broken into a couple nights ago," Miyagi stated, cutting straight to the point. The faster it would take, the better. He had to pick Shinobu up in a few minutes. "The stalk— Er, burglar smashed his window and invited himself in. Be sure to get your parents to buy proper security for this place."

Kei placed his elbows over the desk separating them and rested his chin over atop his long fingers, studying Miyagi's face.

"Which tenant was that?" he asked.

"He lives in room 150," Miyagi replied.

"Oh, Takatsuki Shinobu's place." Kei frowned for a moment then remained content, as if something had struck him. "Yeah, aren't you the police officer that was hanging around Takatsuki... for about a month now?"

"I am," Miyagi responded. "Did you memorize all of your tenant's units?"

"Nah. I'm smart, but I don't waste my time doing things like that," Kei said with a smile. "Why have you always been hanging around Takatsuki this past month? Just curious."

"Let's just say, some things are better left unsaid," Miyagi said. "Do you know Shinobu? You recognized his name when I said he lived in room 150."

"Not personally, but I hear some about him. From school, that is."

"You're in his class?" Miyagi asked. "They should be in session right now."

"Nope, I don't go to university. I don't go to school at all, actually. But I think a lot of people know him. He's popular among ladies and I hear he scores perfectly on everything," Kei mentioned, glancing down at his watch.

"That... makes things a bit difficult," Miyagi muttered silently to himself. If the brat's popular in school, then anyone could know him.

"Anyway sir, I'll be sure to tell my parents what you said. I have to leave now, and I think you should too, if you're going to pick up Takatsuki," Kei said.

Miyagi glanced at his watch and Kei was right. Shinobu's class was almost finished. Though he wondered how Kei would know that. Well, he must've had friends who went to the same university. Such a wide world.

* * *

"And that's your lesson for today," Shinobu's law teacher huffed. "For the remainder of class, review your notes and study for the test next week." Mori-sensei scanned the class for any questions. He called on some chick at the back of the class.

"How big will the test be?" she asked.

Mori-sensei placed a hand on his hip and sighed. "Quite big, actually. But don't stress yourselves too much about it. It should be fairly easy if you try and study. I don't expect anyone to do perfect on it, but I highly doubt anyone will fail, either," he said.

Mori-sensei blabbed some more about some trivial things that Shinobu hadn't been paying much attention to. Instead, he just sat there, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

Last week, he moved Shinobu and Teru up at the front of the class. His sensei claimed it would make Shinobu and Teru shut up more, and he was right. Teru didn't talk much at all nowadays. But when you and your friend were sitting right at the teacher's desk, it would be too awkward to talk, anyway.

When the teacher stepped out of the room to print some pages, Shinobu spoke to Teru.

"Hey, Teru?" Shinobu asked while the rest of the class engaged in studying.

"Hmm?" Teru glanced up from his notes at Shinobu. "What is it?" He blinked.

Shinobu continued to gaze out the window; at the empty parking lot for a moment, before sighing. "Have you ever been in love?" He hated asking such embarrassing questions. But Teru was always very mature about things, and a good friend to be open with.

"... Well... once, I suppose." Teru dropped his pen on their desk and slumped back into his chair. "Why? Do you think you might be?"

"What does it feel like?" the teen inquired, even more embarrassed.

"Hmm... I guess it's pretty much when that person's constantly on your mind... and you can't help but feel really happy when you're around that person... and you wish that you can always be with that person..." Teru's arms were hanging at his sides and he glanced at Shinobu. "Is that sort of how you feel around someone? Are you in...?"

Shinobu watched as a car drove into the university's parking lot. The car was an ugly brown colour, but the driver was that gorgeous cop. Miyagi must've swapped cars.

When he stared at the older man, Shinobu blushed happily.

"I could be..."

**

* * *

**

AN: This came very slow… so sorry about the wait. I rewrote this a few times in different words, because nothing I write seems to satisfy me. Also, I had to stop writing for a while because I had huge final tests to study for. So, I'm very sorry for making you wait for so long... and this new semester tends to give me more homework than last semester... also, my mom gained a complete obsession over the computer and is now constantly on it! My family seriously needs to get a second computer, lol.

**And not that anyone cares or anything, but my mom found 145 pictures of inappropriate Terrorist pictures. She was angry. And when my sister came up with a brilliant lie, she didn't believe her at first. She was suspicious of me for a while, but I think she believes the lie now. At least my dad was cool about it :) I kinda feel bad about lying to my parents now, though. Now I'm just ranting -.-**

**Anyway, please review! I've noticed that this was the longest chapter so far :D But it was boring, in my opinion.**

**Review~**


	9. Feelings

**AN: Thanks for over 50 reviews! You guys are seriously awesome. This chapter was kind of hard to write at some points, but I hope it's good nonetheless.**

**This chapter is around 100 words longer than the last one :D**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica or anything to do with Junjou Romantica.**

* * *

One week later. Miyagi was pissed because even after an incident like that, it was impossible to find anything useful from it. He asked neighbours if they knew or have seen anything about it, but all he got from them was the fact that they heard a loud smashing noise about an hour after Shinobu and Miyagi had left for Miyagi's apartment on that day.

Miyagi and Shinobu successfully worked together to clean everything up and were able to move back in. Kei was pretty quick to hire somebody to replace Shinobu's broken window, and Shinobu's father had even gotten some people to drill bars over each and every one of Shinobu's windows, with the permission of the landlord.

They were also about to repaint over the threat message written on the wall, but Miyagi found out that when he scrubbed hard enough, the marker stuff would actually washed away.

It seemed like they were back at the very beginning again, which annoyed Miyagi. To Shinobu, however, it seemed as though that the brat was actually enjoying the whole mess. Even though he still never smiled once, he just seemed to be happier for some reason.

The only thing Shinobu really couldn't stand was when his father insisted that they would broadcast what had happened on the news. For safety purposes, they didn't show Shinobu over television, but they did request that anyone should call if they knew anything about it. And so far, there were no calls.

It was Friday afternoon when Miyagi and Shinobu walked back to Shinobu's apartment. Miyagi had just picked the boy up from school, and when they first arrive back, the first thing Shinobu did was lie soundly atop the couch.

"Are you tired, Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi asked, sitting himself down on the arm of the sofa.

"...Yeah," Shinobu muttered.

"Long day?"

"I had a test that I didn't even know we were going to have."

Miyagi sighed. "Don't you ever pay attention in class?"

"... No," he admitted tiredly against a pillow.

"That's apparent."

"You made this pillow smell like you," Shinobu muttered, nuzzling into it.

"Oh? What does that smell like?"

"Cigarette."

Miyagi chuckled before saying, "I thought you said that you hate the smell of cigarettes."

"I do."

"Then why are you still inhaling it?"

"..." Silence. "... Lately I've been able to tolerate it better."

Miyagi stood up and said, "You can sleep now if you want to."

"I'll sleep here..." Shinobu murmured. '... Where Miyagi sleeps,' his mind added.

"Hey... don't actually start to like the scent of cigarette smoke. I don't want you to start smoking and jeopardize your health," Miyagi huffed, making his way into the kitchen. He opened the fridge and checked to see what beverages they had.

He could've really used a beer... Of course, Shinobu wouldn't even be allowed to have alcohol in his house, since he's still underage. Miyagi was so glad that he showed Shinobu how to shop _normally_ for groceries. They still always bought plenty of cabbage or some other kind of vegetable, but at least they had a variety of food and drinks to choose from.

After pouring himself a glass of juice, Miyagi crept back over to Shinobu and sat on the floor next to him. Violet eyes gazed down at the blonde mob of hair and he began to wonder if Shinobu had actually fallen asleep.

"Shinobu-chin?" The man was able to see one of the boy's eyes, but it was shut closed. He was also breathing slowly, yet quite steadily. "Shinooooooobuuu-chiiiin?" Miyagi silently whined.

He waited for a response, and snickered to himself when there was none given.

'Can someone really fall asleep so quick?' He set his glass of orange juice down on the coffee table and rested his arm along the couch, right next to Shinobu's sleeping form.

He gazed at the snoozing blonde before him, then after a moment, he hesitantly shifted his arm up and touched his hair somewhat feather-like. He wondered what anyone would possibly want from Shinobu. Or why they would go as far as to break in and destroy everything.

Miyagi hated the sound of the Shinobu he knew being targeted. He also didn't want the boy to be touched by anyone or even be spoken to by anyone that neither he or Shinobu knew.

Miyagi furrowed his eyebrows and began petting Shinobu's head in light, gentle strokes. He watched as the shade of Shinobu's face (of what he was able to see) turned into a shade of pink and Miyagi exhaled softly through his mouth.

Miyagi had never really felt as strong about other clients as he did for Shinobu, but it was no wonder. He and Shinobu had really grown close during the past little while— a month and a day and a week, to be exact. To be even more precise, it was 39 days since Miyagi met Shinobu.

In the early years of Miyagi's career when he would be a bodyguard often, 39 days together with a client was barely anything. He'd often spend over 90 days with a client, but even so, Miyagi felt closer to Shinobu than all of them... even though he had the worst start with the kid.

It was probably because Shinobu was the most interesting and constantly entertaining, not to mention incredibly fun to tease. Shinobu was also cute, but of course that had nothing to do with it.

At the abrupt sound of the door bell, Miyagi snapped his head sideways in the noise's direction, and pulled his hand away from Shinobu's head. He lazily picked himself up and dragged himself over to the door. Watching Shinobu rest for those few minutes made him somewhere drowsy himself.

He opened the door without any hesitation, and his eyes widened in utter surprise as he took notice of Shinobu's family at the door. There were three members, and each one of them was carrying containers of food or wrapped up objects.

"Hello, officer," a rather cheerful-looking woman, most likely Shinobu's mother, greeted. "Mind if we come inside?"

"... Sure..." Not knowing what they were there for, Miyagi stepped aside for the group to come in. He waited for a moment for someone to tell him what was going on. It could've been a family union or special occasion, or maybe they were all just bored and decided to drop by.

"Where is Shinobu?" The youngest one of the group asked, annoyed. Miyagi could guess that it was Shinobu's sister who he briefly heard of. Shinobu's parents filed into the kitchen to set down their things and the young woman scanned the room for her little brother.

When she finally spotted Shinobu lazily lounging on his couch, she approached him and yelled, "Shinobu! Wake _up_!"

Shinobu didn't budge.

"Get up!" she obnoxiously exclaimed, kicking the side of the couch while balancing a large tray of something in her hands.

If anything, it had only made Shinobu clutch onto the couch even tighter. Before Shinobu's appearing-so very loving older sister did anything too rash, such as killing the poor boy, Miyagi stepped in with much of his bravery.

"I can get him up," Miyagi confidently stated. He grinned when he noticed Shinobu's small back tense up. Stubborn brat.

Miyagi knelt down beside the sandy mob of hair and brushed some away from his ear. He leaned forward, Shinobu's sister analyzing with curiosity, and he blew softly into Shinobu's ear. Shinobu's body flinched when Miyagi first began to do it, then took on the uncomfortable feeling.

Miyagi snickered when he managed to emit a low, irritated groan from the boy that only Miyagi himself was able to hear. He began to blow harder, but after a split second of it, Miyagi quickly reacted when Shinobu slapped his hand over his ear.

"Dammit, it feels WEIRD!" he exclaimed, slowly and groggily sitting up on his bum. He turned to his sister, who just stood there, totally unimpressed. "What do you want? Why are you guys here?" he demanded, exchanging glares with the woman.

"Manners, Shinobu-chin..." Miyagi muttered, barely audible to anyone.

"You know why we're here, Shinobu," the sister huffed, placing her weight onto one leg.

"..." Shinobu didn't say anything and instead averted his gaze elsewhere. Miyagi, however, was still in the dark.

"Why are you guys here?" he inquired.

"Shinobu's nineteenth," the girl muttered.

"... Birthday?"

She sighed, annoyed. "What else?"

Miyagi bonked Shinobu on his head and muttered. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Shinobu huffed and said, "You never asked about my birthday."

Miyagi's brow twitched as he said, "Wouldn't you think it were only to be natural that I'd want to know when—"

"Shinobu's a brat," the moody woman stated. "He doesn't—"

"Shut up," Shinobu grumbled.

"Manners—"

"You, too!" the, apparently, birthday boy snapped at Miyagi.

"Geez, Shinobu. Even after we went through all the trouble of bringing dinner over," she huffed. "Look, I even helped mum make this for you." She carefully balanced the aluminium tray over one hand, resting it right against her chest, and pulled the lid off with her other hand.

Inside the tray revealed the most beautiful batch of lasagna Miyagi had ever gawked at. He immediately became mesmerized by such an appetite-inducing sight as his mouth began to water due to his now famished condition. Sure it was just a batch of lasagna, that might not even be warm anymore, but the smell of it was fresh, alluring, delectable― basically it was impeccable at making Miyagi's taste buds begin to crave it.

He hadn't even realized that to his fellow buddy, Shinobu, him staring at the lasagna made it appear that he was staring at something _else_, instead. He also didn't happen to notice the intense, ready-to-kill glares emitting from Shinobu, either.

The young boy snapped, "Well, you didn't have to do or cook anything!"

"Well, I did," Shinobu's sister grumbled, closing the lid. With his view blocked, Miyagi snapped out of the temporary state in Lasagna Land and resumed focus with what was going on at the moment. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your bodyguard, Shinobu?" the lady asked.

"No!" was Shinobu's immediate response. Miyagi bonked his fist against the brat's head again.

"I'm Miyagi Yoh," he introduced, letting his arm fall back to his side.

"Takatsuki Risako," she said back, smiling sweetly. "Our father has spoken fondly of you, Yoh-kun."

Shinobu's hand twitched and Miyagi chuckled his dorky one. "Thank you," he said with slight flattery.

"You work a lot longer and harder than most of his staff. You're a good success," she said.

"Nah, it's not that hard, actually. Anyway―"

"I'M GOING TO THE RESTROOM!" Shinobu announced, loud and clear, as if everyone just _needed_ to know. He cast a nasty and spiteful glance towards Miyagi, before storming off, evidently pissed for no apparent reason.

"... What's his problem?" Risako inquired, stunned at such rude behavior. Although it wasn't much of anything new, coming from her brother.

"I... have no idea," Miyagi responded, sort of taken aback.

He wasn't too blunt to not notice that the boy was angry at him. He didn't know why though.

"Let me carry that for you, Risako," he offered, trying to be a gentleman. When Risako handed him the tray, he was even able to smell the food through the foil lid.

* * *

Barely noticeable from around the corner wall, Shinobu stared (or spied) at his older sister and bodyguard. Miyagi was placing the lasagna onto the table with Risako standing a little ways behind him. They then turned to the kitchen to check on how his parents were doing. Together.

'Stupid old man.' Shinobu marched into his bathroom and shut the door, restraining himself from slamming it. As much as he knew it most-likely wasn't true, it just looked so much like Miyagi was staring at Risako's chest when she revealed her food. Why was Risako holding it so close to her chest, anyway?

Shinobu turned the tap on and began to wash his already clean hands, since he really didn't need to use the toilet. He just hated being in that setting; Risako smiling too sickly sweet for Miyagi, and then Miyagi acting all nice and gentleman-like towards her.

Miyagi hardly acted so nice to Shinobu, so why for Risako? When you got to know the woman she was hardly any nicer than Shinobu was.

Pissed, annoyed, and purely frustrated, Shinobu switched off the running water and dried his hands off with a clean, white towel hanging near the shower.

'That old man better not be interested in her... and she better not be interested in him.' If Miyagi and Risako really were in the very slightest way attracted to each other, then where would that possibly leave Shinobu?

Miyagi hadn't really ever seemed to be romantically interested in anyone, so it was probably nothing. Although, Risako was never too scared to take the initiative to express interest a man whom she liked...

Shinobu tensed up, suddenly wondering _why_ exactly he was so against their being together. He took a moment to calculate what could possibly go wrong:

First, there could be attraction. Risako would ask Miyagi out at dinner, in front of everyone.

Second, Miyagi would make his decision. His boss would be watching, and since that boss also happened to be Risako's father, Miyagi would accept since he wouldn't want to risk his job or impression.

Third, they could date. Miyagi would finish the case with Shinobu's stalker and move on. Since Shinobu was Risako's brother, Shinobu would also be seeing a lot of Miyagi. But Miyagi would be more interested in chatting with Risako than with Shinobu. He'd slowly start to forget about their time spent together.

Fourth, they would get married. Shinobu would get stuck with having to see them together all the time, Miyagi would hardly care about Shinobu at all, and no one would give a shit. After all, Miyagi would rather have Risako to spend his time with, so why bother with a brat like Shinobu. The end?

**NO!**

Absolutely _NOT_ the end!

Shinobu would absolutely refuse to let Miyagi forget about him. Even after Miyagi finishes his job at Shinobu's apartment, Shinobu wouldn't loose contact with the man whether he liked it or not.

'All I have to do is make sure they don't get too close to each other,' Shinobu told himself, tousling his hair with his hands. He came out of his bathroom with confidence, and returned to his uninvited family. A whole bunch of mouth-watering food was already set on the table, along with the silverware and plates.

Already sitting at the table was a bored Risako and his father. Shinobu could've guessed that Miyagi was most likely helping out his mother in the kitchen with whatever she was doing.

When his father noticed Shinobu's gloomy presence reappear, he encouraged, "Come sit beside your sister, Shinobu!"

Both Shinobu and Risako glared at the poor old man, yet he still smiled as though nothing was really wrong. Shinobu faked a cough onto the back of his hand and strolled to the chair at the end of the table, more away from Risako.

Although... if he were to sit there, his mother would want to sit beside his father, leaving Miyagi to sit beside Risako. Shinobu instead huffed irritated, and yanked the chair next to Risako out, and plopped himself down onto it. He propped an elbow over the table and planted his cheek into his palm, as his father began conversation.

"So, Shinobu, is school being good to you?"

"The usual." Shinobu didn't care that his father wasn't even sure what 'the usual' was like, since Shinobu hadn't really told him anything about university.

"Getting all your homework done?"

"I suppose."

"Has anything happened since you've gotten broken into?"

"... Not that I can think of."

Risako groaned, "You're so secretive, Shinobu."

"I'm answering everything!" Shinobu snapped.

"Sure, without giving any thought to each of your answers," she huffed, annoyed.

Shinobu slouched forward a little and sighed as his mother and Miyagi reemerged from the kitchen. His mother gracefully sat down beside her husband, after planting a peck on his cheek.

Miyagi was carrying that large tray of his mother's special lasagna recipe, that he seemed to have oh so suddenly become infatuated with. He didn't notice Shinobu's ongoing consistent glares as he set the lasagna down on the table with the rest of the delicious food, then sat down.

Shinobu fell out of his annoyed state when he felt a boney elbow nudge into his sensitive side.

"Why do you keep looking so grumpy?" Risako whispered to him. "Stop it; it's rude."

"... Mgnmnuhgah..." Shinobu muttered sheer gibberish back at his older sister.

His old man let out a breath of satisfaction. "Is this the time when we sing Happy Birthday?" he asked.

"Oh god..." Shinobu slumped even further down into his seat. He couldn't understand why his family couldn't just grasp onto the fact that he was no longer a little kid. Just like everyone else at the table, he was a smart, responsible, level-headed, cool, respected, and all the above adult.

"Happy Birthday's always sung when there's a candle-lit birthday cake. Not when you're about to eat dinner," Mrs. Takatsuki corrected her husband.

"I hate singing Happy Birthday..." Risako muttered, deciding to be the first to take any food from the table. A bunch of salad was plopped onto her plate. Shinobu had never seen the point in dieting.

Unable to refrain himself any longer, Miyagi reached out and gently placed some of Shinobu's mom's and Risako's appealing lasagna onto his bare plate as the older couple also engaged with the food.

It was silent for a bit, as everyone began to fill their plates, but Shinobu couldn't help but feel grudgingly towards his loyal bodyguard and loving elder sister. He kept thinking that Miyagi might, even just a little bit, like his sister.

There shouldn't have been anything wrong with that, and it was also none of Shinobu's business. But...

"Yoh-kun, pass me the salad dressing," Risako said.

Miyagi's violet eyes scanned the table around himself, until they soon landed on the dressing. "Sure..."

Even if it were just Shinobu's mind making up reasons why those two shouldn't be together, he was worried that it could possibly change his and Miyagi's own relationship. Shinobu just didn't want to risk that happening. And maybe it was just jealousy, but Shinobu found it quite annoying and was feeling upset.

Shinobu looked to his left where he spotted a bowl of delectable-looking spicy chicken. He took the bowl and plopped a wing onto his plate, then turned to Miyagi.

"Want some?" he offered sweetly.

"Sure. Thanks, Shino-chin," Miyagi happily accepted.

Shinobu's brow twitched uncomfortably at the stupid nickname and he took the tongs in his hand. "Do you want a _breast_ or a _thigh_?" he inquired, pissed off, as he unwillingly began to feel as though Miyagi was choosing between breasts or thighs of a human instead of some chicken.

"A leg is fine," Miyagi merrily responded.

"You sure?" Shinobu asked, trying his best to keep his cool and jealousy under control. "My mom makes the breast really big, tender, and _juicy_," he informed through awkward, gritted teeth. He always thought tits were gross. Sometimes he wondered about his sexual orientation.

"Thank you, Shinobu," Mrs. Takatsuki said, smiling with flattery. "I've never heard a compliment come from you before."

Risako muttered, "I helped too."

Shinobu turned his sandy head to glare at his sister and Miyagi sighed, poking his fork into one of the chicken tits while Shinobu was a tad distracted.

He took a nibble and commented, "It's very hot," referring to the spices used.

Shinobu thumped the bowl back down onto the table. 'And the bastard says that _right_ after neesan said she helped making it. Stupid perv.'

Risako chuckled sheepishly and confessed, "I think I put in too much spices... I hope it's not too bad."

Miyagi smiled, to Shinobu's utter distress, and said, "Nah, it's really tender like Shinobu said."

"Of course you'd think so," Shinobu muttered darkly. Miyagi gave a questioning frown, Risako's elbow nearly ripped it's way into Shinobu's side, and his parents seemed to be having their own little conversation about gas prices or politics or whatever adults liked to talk about.

Risako huffed, "Grow up."

"I did!" Shinobu proclaimed. "I just turned 19!"

Miyagi swallowed some lasagna and said, "I think it's great that you're 19, Shinobu-chin. Just two more short years until official adulthood."

Shinobu flushed lightly, rather pleased that Miyagi wasn't picking on him with his sister. Or at least Miyagi wasn't picking on him at that moment.

Risako smirked and said, "Just think... it's already been 19 years since mom and dad's condom broke."

Miyagi nearly choked and Shinobu exclaimed, "That's not true! They wanted me, right?" Shinobu turned to his gawking parents for some much-needed comfort. "RIGHT?"

"What was that, Shinobu?" Mrs. Takatsuki asked, not having a clue of what Shinobu's sudden outburst was for.

"Risako just said that your condom broke 19 years ago!" Shinobu repeated, shameless and annoyed.

When his parents didn't respond and averted their eyes towards their plates, Shinobu's spirits were completely downed.

"Told you," he heard Risako remark beside him, forking some ranch-drenched lettuce into her mouth.

Mrs. Takatsuki cleared her throat and said, "And in almost 5 more months, it would be 30 years since a certain _other_ condom would've broken."

Risako snapped her head upright, away from her plate. "Wait... what?" she asked like an airhead.

"Mom just said that you were the first mistake," Shinobu informed, smirking on the inside.

"Bratty kid," Risako huffed.

"Fat cow."

"I'm not fat!"

"Then why are you dieting?"

Miyagi sighed and said, "Stop fighting, you two. Geez, you guys bicker like siblings." Miyagi blinked at his own statement and Shinobu rolled his eyes towards Miyagi, completely unimpressed, as Risako did the same.

"..."

Risako said, "We are siblings, in case you've forgotten."

"Dummy," Shinobu muttered, scooping a bunch of meat into his mouth.

'Loving family,' Miyagi thought sarcastically, bringing some more lasagna up to his mouth. 'I haven't bought him a present...'

* * *

Shinobu stared at the fancy, black tuxedo being presented to him, from a finely-wrapped box. Shinobu blinked before touching the fine threads and smooth fabric. Somehow, it was a bit extravagant for his 19th birthday.

"Why do you guys know what size I am?" Shinobu asked his mother, who sat down on the sofa next to Risako, across from where Shinobu sat. Miyagi and his father were standing behind them.

"We guesstimated," Mrs. Takatsuki replied.

"You mean you've _estimated_," Shinobu sighed.

"No, we _guess_timated."

Shinobu heard Miyagi snicker and he sighed, putting the expensive tux down. "I'm going to get a glass of water," he muttered, perching himself up onto his two feet.

"We still have a few more presents for you, so hurry back," his mother called as Shinobu walked away. He went past Miyagi, giving the man no eye contact. Miyagi watched as the smaller figure disappeared into the kitchen.

Annoyed, Miyagi also excused himself and stalked off after the younger one. Shinobu was angry... and Miyagi didn't understand why. The boy was behaving more distant and Miyagi wasn't particularly liking it. He stood at the door frame as he stared at Shinobu chugging down a full, tall glass of water.

Shinobu wiped his mouth dry against his sleeve and refilled his glass right up to the very top again. He raised it to his mouth again, but this time Miyagi approached him and pressed his fingers carefully around the rim of the glass. He placed it on the counter top and turned to the angry Shinobu.

"What's that for?" Shinobu grumbled, reaching out towards his drink again.

Miyagi frowned and used himself to block Shinobu's way of getting to it. Shinobu glared at him so Miyagi placed his hand at the back of Shinobu's cute head, stroking gently. He knew that Shinobu liked it when he touched him like that.

"You're acting weird," Miyagi said, flat-out.

"How so?" Shinobu's face was a bit pink.

"You keep giving me these dirty looks. You're hardly speaking to me, and don't even bother looking at me when you walk past," Miyagi said, moving his hand to the side of his head and caressed Shinobu's cheek.

"So what? I don't have to talk to you or look at you. Or smile whenever I do look at you."

"Look, just tell me whatever I did wrong. I don't want you made at me on your birthday," Miyagi said. Shinobu merely stood there, averting his gaze. Miyagi just knew that there had to be something that was causing Shinobu to act like this.

"Shinobu-chin?"

Shinobu was fuming as he slapped Miyagi's hand away from himself.

Miyagi was astonished when Shinobu snapped, "_This_ is what's wrong!" Just a split second after, Shinobu roughly and painfully reached up to Miyagi's chest, tweaking Miyagi's left nipple through his shirt. Miyagi didn't see it coming, and stepped back, seeing Shinobu's emotionally pained expression.

"..."

Shinobu whispered, "Ass..." and left to go back to his family. Miyagi didn't bother stopping him or comforting him, as he knew it would be useless. He couldn't even tell what had happened, but he had give the boy some time... and then do something about it.

Miyagi mentally cursed and took the glass of water that Shinobu was about to consume for himself, chugging it all down to the very bottom. Miyagi stepped out of the kitchen again after wards, seeing Shinobu about to open yet another gift from his parents.

Miyagi placed a hand onto his boss's shoulder, grabbing his attention, and Mr. Takatsuki turned around to smile at Miyagi's returned presence.

"Something the matter, officer?"

"I just wanted to tell you that I'll be going out for a bit," Miyagi said, glancing over at the door.

"What for? Smoke break?" his boss guessed.

"Nah. I just need to go buy something. I'll be back in around half an hour," Miyagi informed.

"I see. We'll see you soon then."

Miyagi smiled in place of thanking him, and went to the door, taking a final glance at Shinobu, and slipped out.

* * *

Strolling around the street, Miyagi was brainstorming on what to buy Shinobu for his birthday. It was difficult because he had no idea what the kid liked or wanted. Also, he had to choose wisely so it wouldn't look bad compared to the expensive gifts his family was showering him with.

He glanced into the windows of many stores, but nothing was really catching his attention or seemed like anything Shinobu could possibly want. It also bothered Miyagi that Shinobu was pissed, but he promised himself to deal with that later.

For the moment, Miyagi just wanted to buy the brat something so he wouldn't feel bad about not getting him anything. Miyagi almost walked past a big toy store, but stopped dead in his tracks when something awfully big and familiar caught his attention. He turned to the clear window and came face-to-face with a big panda bear.

What made the panda different from regular pandas was that weird mustache. This was the same panda that Shinobu wanted from their trip to McDonald's a while back. Miyagi wondered if Shinobu was still even interested in that panda bear. The kid never really did get to have one after he generously gave his own miniature one to some little girl.

After staring directly face-to-window-to-face with the big, stuffed panda bear for literally five whole minutes, his eyes finally drifted downwards to the price. 25,000¥ Seriously? For a stuffed toy the size of a fifth grader, he had to pay that much? Was Shinobu really worth it?

Miyagi ran an annoyed hand through his hair and smirked. Of course Shinobu was worth it... even if the kid did have anger issues and constant glares, Miyagi was quite close to him and his brattiness.

Having made up his mind, Miyagi marched into the toy store that was filled with children, with all his pride. He hoped Shinobu would like it.

* * *

To Miyagi's relief, the shop owner offered to wrap up the stuffed creature. But before he did so, Miyagi noticed the shop was selling some sewing supplies at the counter. So to make the gift a bit more personal, Miyagi decided to stitch some stuff onto the back of the bear. In small letters, Miyagi hand stitched:

_To Shinobu-chin,_

_After today, I hope you will stop being pissed at me. Happy 19th birthday. Even though you're almost a man, you'll always be seen as a boy through my eyes._

_Love, Miyagi :)_

Upon finishing that final stitches on the smiley face, Miyagi wondered if he should have just gotten someone else to write it for him. He had never even touched a sewing needle throughout his entire life and it came out pretty obvious.

'Whatever,' he thought, paying to the manager after sitting in a corner, quietly sewing with himself, for nearly half an hour. That was when he realized that he was running much later than he intended to.

He quickly drove, almost sped, back to the apartment building and parked in the parking space. He grabbed the wrapped up panda bear in his two arms, and noticed that Risako was at her father's car, taking something out of it.

Curious, Miyagi crept over to her and saw the big birthday cake being taken out from the back seat.

"Looks good," Miyagi commented from behind her. She jumped slightly, unaware of his presence up til then and turned to him.

"You should have told me you were standing there," she breathed.

Miyagi chuckled and said, "Sorry... I'd offer to bring that up for you, but my hands are already full." he looked down at the gift and Risako laughed.

"Is that for Shinobu?" she asked, hardly able to see through the plastic wrap.

"Yeah... a last-minute present for him," he admitted. He really wished that Shinobu would have told him about his birthday beforehand.

"Ah. I'm sure Shinobu will appreciate it," she said, smiling brightly. "If you chose the right gift, he might even like it."

"Well if he doesn't like it, that's not my problem."

"You know, Shinobu's wondering what's taking you so long right now," she said. "You never told him that you were going out, and he's wondering what you were doing."

Miyagi blinked. "Really?"

"You sound surprised, "Risako said.

"Nah. It's just that he's sort of angry at me for the time being," he sighed.

"Hm? Why's that?"

"He won't tell me."

Risako sighed. "That figures. He hardly tells anyone anything. But whatever it is, he'll get over it," she assured.

"I know. It's just some momentary thing that's bothering him." Miyagi smiled.

"Speaking of that kid, how's he doing? Is he doing good in school still?"

"He's at the top of his class. Or at least that's what he tells me. I was looking through some of his marked tests and assignments once, and he received perfect on all of them." He paused for a moment, recollecting his memory, before saying, "Some of them he got bonus marks."

"Shinobu has been perfect in school ever since elementary. We offered to let him study at an elite university in a different part of the country. He wouldn't been able to have so many opportunities," she sighed.

"So why didn't Shinobu go?" Miyagi curiously inquired.

"That brat claimed that he didn't want to move away from his hometown. Kind of a waste of opportunity, if you'd ask me."

"Well it would probably be difficult to be alone and far away from family and friends."

"He wouldn't have been alone. We have an aunt who lives there... but maybe that's part of the reason why Shinobu didn't want to go." Risako shrugged.

"What's wrong with your aunt?"

"Oh... nothing's wrong with her, but she likes to collect a bunch of droolly dogs. Shinobu hates dogs."

"I like dogs..." Miyagi said, smiling.

"I do, also."

"German Shepard's, in particular."

"Pomeranian's are cute." Risako grinned.

"We should go back up. They're waiting for that cake," Miyagi reminded, suddenly remembering it himself.

"That's right..."

* * *

"Risako's taking her time fetching that cake," Shinobu's father muttered, craving something sweet for his taste buds to savor.

"I hope she didn't drop it on her way up."

"Where the hell is Miyagi?" Shinobu whined, not even able to prevent himself from cursing in front of his parents.

"I'm sure he'll be back soon," Mrs. Takatsuki said, optimistic.

Shinobu groaned, laying down on his back, over atop his couch. Miyagi never left his side without telling him first before. He was worried that Miyagi might have actually been mad at him for physically hurting him. He never pinched Miyagi before― or anyone, for that matter.

Shinobu just kept on finding himself so against Miyagi being in the least interested in his sister. And when Risako first took the lid off of the lasagna, she was holding it so close to her chest that it made Shinobu's mind believe that Miyagi was mesmerized by her tits instead of the lasagna.

It was a mistake that could've happened to anyone... Right?

Shinobu wanted to apologize, but Miyagi left without even saying a word! His father told him that Miyagi was going to go "buy something," but what was possibly so important that he had to ditch him on his birthday? A pack of cigarettes? A haircut? A damn porno mag?

Shinobu groggily got up and went to the restroom to piss. While he was using the loo, he thought he heard the door open. Hoping that it was Miyagi, he quickly washed up his hands and barely bothered to dry them up.

When he arrived to the living room again, his face nearly paled when he saw Miyagi _and_ Risako coming out of the kitchen _together._ Risako was carrying a big birthday cake, while Miyagi was bare-handed.

Miyagi smiled when he took notice of Shinobu and said, "Come eat your cake, Shinobu-chin!"

Shinobu frowned, but gloomily joined them, nonetheless. He still definitely felt pissed when he saw those two together. He couldn't understand why exactly.

* * *

It was 8:30 in the evening when they finally left. The moment they closed the door on themselves, Shinobu felt Miyagi's eyes were laid on him. It was complete awkward silence for a second, then Shinobu went off in the direction of his bedroom.

"I'm going to bed," he finally said. Then Shinobu heard footsteps shadowing behind him.

"Wait, Shinobu-chin. It's still very early," Miyagi mentioned.

"It's late enough," Shinobu huffed. He placed a hand on the doorknob to his bedroom and tugged the door inches open, only for it to be pushed back shut.

"Don't try to avoid me," Miyagi muttered. Shinobu frowned and tried to shove past the bigger man, but Miyagi was too quick to plant his hands on either side of Shinobu's head, creating sort of like a barrier.

"What?" Shinobu snapped, feeling slightly intimidated by the older cop.

"Why are you angry? Whatever I did wrong, I sincerely apologize for it, but can't you at least tell me what it is that's bothering you?"

Shinobu kept attempting to put on a strong face by scowling into Miyagi's eyes, but Miyagi looked like he was easily able to tell Shinobu was intimidated. After more silence. Shinobu deeply flushed and his eyes widened when Miyagi's head neared closer to his own.

"Well?" Miyagi pressed.

Shinobu turned his head to the side, breaking eye contact with Miyagi. "I... just... don't like it."

Miyagi blinked. "You don't like what?"

"When you and Risako... look compatible." Shinobu swallowed nervously and said, "Like a couple."

Miyagi quirked a brow and asked, "You think I'm interested in going out with your older sister?"

Shinobu blushed some more and stuttered. "W-Well it's just that... Y-You know what? Forget it. It's nothing."

But Miyagi didn't budge. "I have no idea what got that idea lodged up in your empty little head, but I have absolutely no intention of becoming involved with your sister. And I'm certain she feels the exact same way."

Shinobu twisted uncomfortably. "Yeah... I get it. It's stupid so lemme go now," he muttered, trying to figure a way out of Miyagi's arms.

"I guess that's what comes out of assuming such things, right, Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi began smiling and grinning, making it seem like he was actually enjoying Shinobu's utter embarrassment.

"Yeah, yeah," Shinobu huffed.

"You even pinched me. Aren't you silly."

Shinobu frowned and Miyagi chuckled.

"I'm friggin' sorry so let me go to sleep now."

"Wow, I actually heard an apology from you."

Shinobu shot a scowl at Miyagi and demanded, "Well what about _you_? You completely just left without even telling me! You were gone for like an hour!"

"I'm glad you reminded me about that," Miyagi said, smiling. Shinobu gawked as his hand was taken into Miyagi's larger and rougher one, as he got led to the kitchen. Shinobu blinked at quite a large object wrapped up in plastic wrapping material with a big, red ribbon sitting on the floor.

"What... is this?"

"Happy birthday, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi replied, ruffling up Shinobu's hair. "Go open it," he encouraged.

Shinobu went forward and knelt down in front of it. He tore down the wrapping and stared at the mustache panda. He blinked and asked, "Isn't this expensive?"

"After receiving so many, much more expensive gifts from your family, you're asking if _this_ is expensive?"

Shinobu laid a hand on the panda's head. "Well I know that _they_ can actually afford it."

"Gee. Thanks, brat," Miyagi muttered with sarcasm. He couldn't help but smile adoringly at Shinobu examining the stuffie.

Shinobu took it in his hands and turned it around, taking a look at the backside. That was when he noticed the messy stitching that Miyagi sewed onto it earlier.

He read it in his head and frowned. "You jerk."

Miyagi smirked and said, "It's the thought that counts."

"Well it's not exactly the most thoughtful thing you could've sewn onto here," Shinobu huffed.

"I would've bought a card and written it on there, but I figured this way you wouldn't be able to sell or trade it if you ever grow tired of it."

"Well aside from that, your sewing skills suck," Shinobu bluntly stated. "Your technique is all wrong, it's all messy, and you didn't secure it well enough so it won't come undone."

Miyagi's brow twitched. "What makes you think you could do any better?"

"Duh. I took a sewing class in high school once. I wanted a Food's class, but after the first lab we did, they transferred me into a sewing class." Shinobu sighed, moping at the memory.

"Ah..."

"I think it was because I almost set the oven on fire..."

"Probably," Miyagi sighed.

Shinobu gently pulled at the panda bear's ears a couple of times. He then stood up and walked directly into Miyagi's warm chest.

"Thank you, Miyagi," he said, feeling Miyagi wrap his arms around his shoulders. Shinobu gripped onto Miyagi's back, nuzzling into Miyagi's smooth neck.

"Do you like it?" Miyagi asked.

"Mm hmm," Shinobu lazily admitted.

Miyagi patted Shinobu's head. "Can you smile for me then?"

"Huh?"

"I want to see you smile for once," Miyagi said. "You've never smiled in front of me before."

Shinobu pulled away from Miyagi's warm hold, yet didn't smile. "I can't just smile when someone randomly asks me to."

"Once is all I'm asking."

Shinobu picked up his new mustache panda plushie and tightly hugged it. "I like your gift... but I can't. It wouldn't be very natural, anyway."

Miyagi grinned. "Fine, then. I'll just wait for one _naturally_."

"Dork," Shinobu huffed, making Miyagi laugh. "I'm really tired. I'm going to sleep now."

After bidding a good night to each other, Shinobu scrambled into his bedroom, still holding onto his stuffed animal. Out of all the presents he received, Miyagi's present was no doubt the one Shinobu treasured the most.

* * *

Shinobu sat over on top of his bed with his laptop opened in front of him. It was a while since Shinobu had last checked his e-mails, so he quickly wanted to delete the crap and read what was good before he went to sleep that night.

As usual, there was many junk e-mails. There was also some chain mail, which Shinobu was quick to delete, and random messages from some friends. He opened a message from his aunt that lived elsewhere in Japan, which greeted him a happy birthday.

The teen quickly whipped up a reply message and sent it. He then clicked on something from an e-mail address he wasn't too aware of. It didn't have a subject, but after clicking on it, it just looked like a dumb gay porn add. Shinobu nearly clicked the delete button, but something written at the top caught Shinobu's attention.

It read, '_Happy 19__th__ birthday, Takatsuki Shinobu. Fancy seeing our mentioning on the news._'

Shinobu looked around the page for any other text, trying his hardest to ignore the naked gay men, but it didn't turn out to be an add. It was an annoyance from his fellow stalker, most likely. Shinobu would have deleted the message in a split second, but he figured that something like this could help Miyagi find the culprit.

Instead, Shinobu just exited it and turned his laptop off. He would be sure to tell Miyagi about it later. He tucked it into his drawer then turned to the gift that Miyagi had given him. He began poking at the ears some more, and instantly his mind became filled with nothing but thoughts of Miyagi.

Shinobu had to talk to Miyagi about something the next day. Something that he had to get off his chest.

Almost as if the panda were Miyagi, Shinobu tightly hugged it and nuzzled against it. Before he let himself fall asleep, Shinobu had to get up and turn the lights off. He then crawled under the covers and fell asleep squeezing the bear. He fell asleep, thinking of Miyagi. And wanting to be with Miyagi. Then, he dreamed of being with Miyagi...

* * *

To Shinobu's joy, the next day was a non-school day. He sprang right out of bed and tossed on a random outfit that consisted of loose jeans and a black sweater. He then went into the bathroom and did whatever had be be done in there.

When he arrived in the living room, Miyagi was already up as usual.

"Morning," Shinobu greeted, joining him at the table.

Miyagi smiled. "Good morning. Did you sleep good last night?"

"I slept with the panda."

Miyagi chuckled and took a sip of some plain, black coffee. "That's cute," he remarked afterward.

Shinobu flushed lightly and looked down at his hands sitting on his lap. "Miyagi, I need to talk to you about something."

Miyagi blinked and set his coffee down. "What's wrong?"

"Well... F-For a while now, I've been feeling really funny," Shinobu began.

"Because of the break-in?" Miyagi inquired.

"No... A little bit before that happened. And..." Shinobu took a breath. "I've only been feeling this way towards you."

"What does it feel like, exactly?" Miyagi asked.

"I don't know how to describe it exactly but..." Shinobu took in a deep breath and continued. "I get really happy just thinking about you, I'm always anxious to see you, you're constantly on my mind, I get jealous when you're with others, I like it when we hold hands or hug―"

"I-Is that so?" Miyagi awkwardly took a gulp of coffee.

Shinobu nodded and finally returned eye contact with Miyagi. "So after doing some research and asking my friends, I've finally come to a conclusion as to why I've been feeling like this."

"Wait―"

"I'm in love with you, Miyagi."

* * *

**AN: OH SHIT! Is this another cliffhanger? Yes, it is! I'm sorry about that. Shinobu finally confessed his feelings for Miyagi :) It might have been kind of rushed though. Or more like it was completely out of nowhere. Lol, at least I made him say it.**

**This chapter was kind of hard to write, I dunno why.**

**Any kind of review is highly appreciated :D **


	10. Determined Brat

Eyes widened and mouth slightly agape, Miyagi searched the young boy's face before him… in attempt to figure out what he meant that moment. Shinobu was practically gleaming with confidence and determination as he waited patiently for an answer or response― or anything from the older cop.

But Miyagi merely sat there, as though what Shinobu had said was incomplete and need further backup for it to actually mean anything.

"… Uh… I… what?" Miyagi asked idiotically.

Shinobu's narrowed eyes and furrowed brows was an indication that he wasn't going to repeat himself― or at least not until Miyagi says something.

Miyagi lowered his head and closed his confused eyes, softly exhaling through his nose. Was the kid truly serious?

"… Say something," Miyagi heard Shinobu mutter, almost desperate to know what was on in Miyagi's mind. Miyagi lifted his head up and looked at Shinobu again; it appeared that the silent treatment Miyagi was giving was creating a dent in Shinobu's confidence barrier.

"… You… c-can't be serious about this…" Miyagi finally said, stuttering at a word to his own dismay. He wanted to put up a strong face to match up with Shinobu's.

"I'm dead serious about this," Shinobu confirmed, not a trace of doubt in his voice. "I love you."

Miyagi's finger twitched and his body almost shuddered at those repeated words. If it had been just anyone telling him that, Miyagi would have just given a firm 'No' and pretend it never happened. But Shinobu wasn't just anyone. Miyagi would've called the teen a 'friend' or a 'close client' or something along the lines, but now Miyagi wasn't even sure what their relationship was anymore.

But he knew damn well what their relationship _wasn't_.

"I'll be honest." Miyagi gave Shinobu direct eye contact, just to make sure the kid was paying attention. "I love you, also," he said, watching Shinobu look… surprised?

He wasn't sure, but Miyagi knew that the next statement he'd make wouldn't be what Shinobu would be hoping to hear.

"But not in the same way," he concluded.

To Miyagi's confusion, Shinobu's expression didn't falter, nor did it appear to be in any way glum. He just stared at Miyagi, like a kid at some candy through the window of a candy store― curious and hopeful.

"Why?" Shinobu asked. "Can't we be―"

"No," Miyagi said without a clue of what Shinobu was going to finish his question with. But whatever it was― lovers, boyfriends, partners, spouses― it had to be a definite _no_.

"You don't even know what I was going to say…" Shinobu mentioned; a faint flush clashed with slight frown. Miyagi sort of felt bad for rejecting him… but he just didn't understand how they would possibly work out… _romantically_.

"Listen, Shinobu-chin. I don't know what exactly it is you're thinking… or how you feel for me exactly―"

Shinobu interrupted, annoyed. "I just said that I'm in love with you. Don't doubt my feelings…" He trailed off.

"My point is: we wouldn't work out. For many reasons, we can't be together if that's how we'd feel for each other," Miyagi explained. Shinobu's face was illegible as Miyagi tried to interpret if the young boy understood.

A few seconds passed, which to Miyagi felt to an eternity, when Shinobu spoke up.

"I can't think of a reason why we wouldn't work out."

Despite Shinobu's high standing in university, the boy just seemed so damn dumb to Miyagi at the moment.

"Listen up, kid."

"Shinobu," the teen corrected, starting to glare.

"You're only eighteen―"

"_Ninteen_."

"And I'm thirty five, soon thirty six. Don't you see something wrong with that?" Miyagi asked, resting his face against his palm.

"… No," the teen answered, all too oblivious.

"That's a seventeen year age difference! I don't even know if something like that is legal, and I'm a cop."

"I don't care how much older you are. Even if you were fifty years older, my feelings wouldn't change. Shinobu glanced down at the table and his face turned beet. He fixed his glare back to Miyagi and snapped, "And since when were you so perfect in following to law? You run red lights and loiter at my school while smoking!"

"…" He hated to admit it, but it was true… and he also liked to pull pranks on the other police officers randomly. "Dating someone almost half my own age would be much worse."

"That's not a valid excuse. I'm the one who wants it, so there's no problem."

"There's obviously more issues, brat," Miyagi huffed. "Your father."

Shinobu blinked, confused. "What's he got to do with anything?"

"He's also my boss. What do you think would happen if he were to ever find out?" he quizzed.

"He's too oblivious to ever find out anything about me," Shinobu huffed. "Same with everyone else in my family. They don't even know me well enough to figure out what kind of present would make me happy on my birthday. So they merely spend a lot of money, hoping that would be good enough."

"Shinobu, they care about you. They want you to have a good future and find someone your own age to spend it with. Not someone who's older than you by seventeen years."

Shinobu narrowed his eyes and glared down at his lap. "… It's my choice what I want to do with my life."

"That I won't argue with. But I don't want that kind of relationship with you," Miyagi said, quietly.

Shinobu flinched, unnoticeably, hurt by Miyagi's words. Miyagi very rarely see Shinobu looking hurt, and his heart slightly sank that he was the cause for this.

"Am I not good enough for you?" he muttered, now saddened instead of annoyed.

"It's not so much about whether you're 'good enough.' I mean, every person has faults and all that shit… and if I loved you enough, I'd be able to overlook those issues that I've previously mentioned."

Shinobu turned his head back up to Miyagi, his eyes pleading for some reassurance.

"Then why?" he bellowed. The strong and confident glow the brat had on seconds ago appeared to have been diminished.

"I'm… a man, Shinobu-chin."

"So?"

"And so are you."

Confusion was all over Shinobu's face. "Are you homophobic?"

"No, I think two guys or girls or whoever has every right to be together, but I don't want to be with you," Miyagi stated, hoping it would actually get through the teen's thick head… which apparently it did.

The boy was trying his hardest to keep on a strong face, but Miyagi noticed his cheeks slightly puffed out and his eyes were beginning to well up with unwanted tears.

"…" Shinobu was completely silent… Miyagi had never seen this strong, confident Shinobu so… broken.

Even with all the obvious overwhelming emotions surging over the heartbroken brat, he still desperately tried to hide it. And with each passing second, Miyagi was able to tall it was getting worse; Shinobu's shoulders would randomly tremble, rhythmic to his lips. Miyagi's eyes began to soften, struck with guilt and sympathy.

"C'mon… don't give me that face, Shinobu," Miyagi said. Fuck, it was like the kid's damn emotions could rub off.

"S-so… if I were a girl… things could be different?" Shinobu whimpered. "You wouldn't mind trying to love me back, and you would give me a chance…" Shinobu frowned and used his sweater sleeve to wipe the unshed salty watery away in irritation.

"Shinobu-chin, you can understand it. I'm not a homo and would make a lousy partner for you. Trust me, you can do much better."

"So now you're trying to convince me that this is for _my_ benefit?" Shinobu snapped. "That I'd be better off without you and with some clingy chick my own age, instead?"

"Well… obviously you need me with you until we bust that jack ass, but afterwards―"

"Miyagi! I love you! I _**know**_ it's right!" Shinobu exclaimed. That brat absolutely amazed Miyagi. At one point, he appeared to be on the verge of a teary breakdown, but yet now, he was boasting with determination of getting the man he wanted.

"How can you be so sure? You can't just base important decisions like that on emotions alone," Miyagi huffed. "Otherwise, you'll only end up hurt in the future."

"I won't. You're the only one for me."

"Stop saying things like that."

"There's enough proof for me to know for sure."

Miyagi gave off a blank gaze at the strange person before him. If he hadn't known better, he's think Shinobu just got very wasted with booze stored away in his room.

"What proof, exactly?" he dared to ask.

"My dreams are telling me… the first one was the night before the break-in," Shinobu explained, flushing at the returning images. "We were here in my living room, and then you began k-kissing me."

"Speaking of dreams, I think I'm having a really bad one right now."

"Miyagi! I'm serious! Don't make fun of me, you jerk." Shinobu once again began to stare intensely at his lap. Miyagi wanted to make Shinobu realize that dreams and reality are two totally different things and he shouldn't believe in them so strongly. But… Shinobu was Shinobu. He was stubborn, bratty, ignorant, and unreasonable. Trying to convince him probably wouldn't do much.

"Just think about it logically." But that didn't stop Miyagi from trying. "Have you ever dreamt of… winning the lottery, per se?

"No," Shinobu replied.

"Getting that puppy you've always wanted?"

"I've never wanted a dog."

Miyagi frowned, annoyed. "Fucking flying?"

"Yeah," Shinobu finally said.

"So you've dreamt of flying before, but it never came true now, did it? The same thing applies to―"

"But it _did_ come true," Shinobu counteracted, folding his arms.

"How the fuck can a person really fly? You know what? Never mind― just hand over the drugs you're on."

"It was an airplane. I dreamt I was on an airplane and then I was really on one."

Shinobu's previous experiences with his dreams and such weren't quite on Miyagi's side. But that didn't mean Miyagi would make Shinobu's little 'dream' turn into reality.

"Shinobu-chin, I'm telling you this now and I'll always be if you keep this up. I. Do. Not. Love. You."

"Not right now, but in a few―"

"_Ever,_" Miyagi concluded his harsh assumption.

"You said you loved me!" Shinobu exclaimed, annoyed.

"I'm sorry that your late-night visions are misleading you, but I don't love you like that."

"They're not misleading me; they're telling me what _will_ happen."

"Believe me. They're misleading," Miyagi sighed. He couldn't believe how much time it was taking to get through to him.

Shinobu sat there, and glared at Miyagi through narrow, displeased eyes. It was weird― he didn't seem at all heartbroken anymore. Normally, heartbreak is what one would feel after getting rejected.

"… Fine," Shinobu muttered, quirking Miyagi's brow. Shinobu stood up and headed in the direction of his bedroom, leaving a very confused Miyagi.

"'Fine' what?" Miyagi called after him.

"I love you, but you don't think you can love me yet. So, I'll wait," Shinobu stated.

"_Wait_?" Miyagi echoed, taken aback.

"Mm hmm." And with that, Shinobu disappeared into his bedroom.


	11. Things Get Messy

**AN: Oh my goodness! Did I just update Bodyguard in six days after my last update? Yes, I did! Amazing, aren't I? xD Just kidding. Far from it, actually. This is such a dark chapter, in my opinion. I don't know. You be the judge of it. I **_**hope**_** you guys may actually enjoy it.**

**Also, sorry for such a lengthy chapter. I didn't mean to exceed over ten thousand words.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Junjou Romantica and all that stuff.**

* * *

It was a bright, brisk early morning a couple of days later. The radiant sunshine was beaming down through the windshield of Miyagi's police patrol car, and there wasn't a single puff of white cloud in sight. Such a rare day for late November. The twosome was driving through the road; Miyagi was about to drop his brat off at the university.

Things between them… just haven't been the same during the past seventy two hours. Miyagi was purposefully being distant from Shinobu. He broke off a lot of their usual conversation and physical contact, such as ruffling his hair, hugging him, and all else they both enjoyed. Overall, Miyagi was doing pretty good.

But that didn't mean it was easy for him.

Shinobu didn't at all seem to change, aside from the occasional complaints for Miyagi to talk more and to cease in behaving to zombie-like. The young teenage would have seldom advances to initiate some minor touching.

For instance, when he would put forth effort to inch closer and closer to Miyagi when they were on the sofa, watching a random TV channel. The brat thought his movements were sly enough, but Miyagi would always ruin his attempts by making a bathroom break. Either that or jam a pillow betwixt them.

"Why did we have to leave for the Uni so early today?" Shinobu groaned beside the man, in the passenger's seat of the vehicle.

"It's good for you. It will make you appear like a better, more determined student if you arrive earlier than everyone else," Miyagi responded, stomping his foot onto the accelerator.

Normally before the two would leave for Shinobu's place of education, they'd have a lot of leftover time after getting ready. Every morning since Miyagi first received the mission, they shared it together. Whether it was watching TV, chattering away on nonsense, or whatever, they would always have at least twenty minutes for themselves.

Yet not that day. Miyagi wanted to keep a fair distance from the little knuckle-head. Then hopefully, Shinobu would realize that his unrequited love for Miyagi was nothing more than a faux and give up on the whole thing.

"You just want to get away from me," Shinobu huffed, reading Miyagi like a children's book.

"That's not true," Miyagi lied, failing to convince Shinobu for even a second.

"Nothing you can do will work. It's your job not to leave me alone. Remember that, jerk," Shinobu grumbled, almost threatening.

"That just makes me ten times more driven to bust your stalker and completely end this," Miyagi said, so cold, so distant.

Silence. Shinobu didn't respond, and Miyagi didn't want to look at him. He kept his violet eyes fixated on the long road ahead of him. But at the bottom of his thin shirt, Miyagi felt a tight tug. When his instincts told him it was safe enough to tear his eyes away from the road, he glanced down at the feeling.

He should have already guessed what it was. Shinobu grabbed the piece of his clothing, having that bratty expression on his face― consisting of downward curls on the corners of his lips and furrowed brows. He did that often when he sought for Miyagi's attention and Miyagi was slow to give it.

"Don't tell me something like that," Shinobu complained, his foggy eyes looking past the windshield. "Don't act like you hate me. It's probably nothing to you, but to me… it hurts…" The concluding word came as nothing more than a fading whisper.

Miyagi felt the fist on his top loosen, then pulled back away from him. The man said nothing. He wanted to comfort Shinobu. Tell him: I'll never hate you, you're too smart to assume something like that, you're such a cute brat.

But Miyagi felt he shouldn't do any more to mislead the poor youth and give him space. There wasn't any way for a thirty five year old police officer and a nineteen year old collage boy to engage in a successful romance relationship.

"Stop ignoring me," Shinobu demanded, angrily. "I know you're listening to me so don't pretend you're not."

"You exaggerate everything. Grow up," Miyagi murmured, bitterly. In a way, he hoped that it didn't hurt Shinobu anymore than he already was. Yet, in a sense, he felt that pain could be necessary.

"Fuck you."

Miyagi's car came to a halt in the deserted parking lot of Shinobu's school.

"Go," the older cop ordered, directed to the pissed off teen.

"Classes aren't even starting until ten minutes," Shinobu grumbled. "I'm waiting in here."

"No," Miyagi corrected. "You're going to _school_."

"Like hell this early. I'm staying in here with you."

"You're way too stubborn," Miyagi muttered.

"I want to be with you."

"Stop it…"

"I love you," Shinobu whispered, tipping his head forward a bit, from embarrassment or shame probably.

"I need a fucking smoke," Miyagi announced silently, rushing out of the car maybe _too_ quickly. He slammed the ugly brown colour of the undercover cop car door tightly shut and leaned against the small vehicle. A smelly cigarette was quick to be lit and placed between the man's lips.

A moment after, the sound of the passenger door came open and shut closed, followed by faint dragging footsteps coming toward him from around the car. Miyagi glanced and Shinobu slowly came to him, his head hung low. The small figure leaned against Miyagi's car, much alike how the older man was, leaving half an arm's length of space separating them.

Instinctively, Miyagi draped his free arm around the frail shoulders, pulling him a bit closer. Shinobu tilted his head sideways, soundly letting it lean against Miyagi's strong shoulder. No words were exchanged, but they each knew they were both forgiven for their arguing in the car.

"Hello, guys," greeted a voice, out of nowhere. Miyagi and Shinobu looked up and saw Kei standing there, the manager of Shinobu's apartment building.

"Good morning," Miyagi responded, as Shinobu nodded in turn. "Why are you here?"

"I just came by to drop someone off," Kei explained. "The person needed to speak with the principle about something. What are you two doing?" he inquired.

"Nothing," both Miyagi and Shinobu responded, in sync.

"Huh. Takatsuki, may I speak with you for a moment, please?" he inquired, randomly.

Underneath from where Miyagi's arm was wrapped around, the man felt Shinobu take a step forward towards Kei. Miyagi narrowed his eyes and very noticeably tightened his grip around the boy, locking him by his side.

Confused, Shinobu glanced up at Miyagi, a blank expression on his otherwise cute face.

"You can talk to Shinobu here," Miyagi directed to Kei, unwilling to allow Shinobu to be closer to anyone more than he was. It was his job to be protective, Miyagi often convinced himself.

"Actually, I'd prefer it more if it were just Takatsuki and I," Kei protested. "Don't worry― it's nothing bad. Just a personal favour I'd like to ask of him."

Miyagi looked down at the said person, who was a bit squirmish in his hold.

"It's alright, Miyagi," Shinobu huffed, silently. "You're supposed to obey me."

"I'm supposed to _protect_ you," Miyagi muttered in response, letting Shinobu go nonetheless.

Kei smiled gratefully and guided Shinobu a couple of parking spaces down, just enough so that none other could hear what they were saying. Miyagi observed the two young men slowly engage in conversation while he continued to huff and puff on his half-done cigarette.

As far as Miyagi was able to tell, Kei was basically doing all of the chattering and Shinobu was merely listening attentively, occasionally nodding. Miyagi dropped his cigarette onto the ground― he was already bored with it― and saw Kai reach into his pocket to take out a small slip of paper to hand it over to the blonde.

Shinobu took the slip, peered down at it for a moment, and then folded it neatly in half to fit into his pocket. Shinobu then muttered something back to Kei, making him smile brightly, and then Shinobu turned away, heading back to the waiting Miyagi. Kei waved a goodbye signal to Miyagi and soon left.

"What was that about?" Miyagi asked, curious.

"Nothing," Shinobu responded, nonchalantly. "I'm going to school now. Bye, Miyagi."

Shinobu pivoted away, but Miyagi looped a finger around the back of the neck hem on Shinobu's sweater vest, nearly choking him to a stop.

"What did that guy give to you?"

Shinobu turned back to him, soothing out the front side of his sweater. "I just said it's nothing," the boy grumbled, too secretive for Miyagi's preference.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Shinobu. And don't try to hide things from me."

"I'm not trying to hide anything from you," Shinobu denied, frowning. "It's just not that important."

"I want to know, anyway."

"You were the one who was trying to tell me to go to school early, and now that I'm trying to, you're holding me back."

Miyagi stood there, a dull expression set on his face, and continued to stare at the naïve brat. So now Shinobu was trying to make Miyagi look bad. _Reaaaal_ mature, Shinobu. Real mature.

"Fine," Miyagi gave in. "Hurry up and go."

Miyagi kept his expression as best stone-like as he was capable of, while Shinobu glowered at his rude behaviour. The boy didn't bid farewell to Miyagi and instead ran off, having such a scornful appearance on his face.

To Miyagi, it was so difficult to restrain himself from Shinobu. It only caused him severe irritation each time he tried, which he would then unwillingly take it out on Shinobu. He feared that would initiate feelings of hatred Shinobu could possibly gain for Miyagi.

But if Miyagi wasn't doing what he was doing, Shinobu would continue to claim his love and passion for Miyagi. In the end, it only left one question that Miyagi would continuously ask himself.

Would he rather Shinobu to love or hate him?

* * *

Sitting inside the rowdy classroom of other law students, Shinobu felt so unbearably pained. He just loved Miyagi so much. He wanted to be loved back no matter how long it would take. But ever since he confessed his eternal, hard-felt feelings for the bodyguard, it was like Miyagi had turned himself into a whole different person who hated him.

It wasn't like something like that would ever die down how Shinobu felt, but it was seriously affecting the boy in ways he never thought another person would. His chest ached with every disheartening word and he just felt like his whole soul would collapse every time Miyagi made a resentful gesture.

Still, Shinobu would never give up. He wasn't going to give up on the person whom he _knew_ was meant to be with him for a fact.

"You look miserable," Teru observed upon his arrival. He sat down next to Shinobu, where he'd always sit, and turned to the sulking boy for conversation.

"Nah, I'm fine," Shinobu said, convincing neither Teru nor himself.

"Let me guess. It's that person who you're in love with, isn't it?"

"… Is it really that obvious?" Shinobu muttered, fiddling with his mechanical pencil. It had a cute panda eraser at the end of it.

"For me it is," Teru responded. "Considering you've only just asked me what it was like to be in love a week or so ago."

"Oh yeah…" Shinobu completely forgot about that.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Teru offered, generously.

"You've already done a lot to help me. Thanks anyway."

Shinobu sighed heavily when his grumpy law teacher came inside, meaning class was at an official start and chat-time was done.

Like every day, it seemed like forever until it was lunch break. When the time finally came around, Shinobu jammed everything into his shoulder bag. He lazily let his hand rest inside the pocket of his loose jeans, and then he felt that piece of paper that Kei gave him earlier that morning.

Shinobu took it out and stared down at the inscribed cellphone number written onto it. For a moment, he briefly recalled the favour Kei had asked of the blonde, so Shinobu scanned his emptying classroom, in hopes that a certain person hadn't left already.

Then, his sharp grey eyes picked up on her presence at the back of the room. Light brown wavy hair, dark chocolate-brown― almost black― eyes, short in height, fairly skinny, and had the blood of an American as well as a Japanese.

Shinobu confidently approached her and her small group of friends.

"Aki," Shinobu said, dully, gathering her and her female friend's attentions. "I need to speak with you for a moment."

* * *

Miyagi's day was surely taking a toll on him. It didn't help that he couldn't be his regular chirpy self when he was with Shinobu. That was draining him out the most. He had finished driving Shinobu back to the apartment since they had some instant ramen they'd be able to whip up and gobble down.

Miyagi still wanted to know what the boy was talking about with that Kei character. Shinobu never kept something from him before, so it could have possibly been important, yet possibly not.

"So what did Kei ask you to do, Shinobu?" Miyagi inquired. They were both standing in the kitchen while their ramen was heating up in the microwave.

Shinobu huffed, leaning up against the fridge. "You still want to know about that?"

"Just answer the goddamn question," Miyagi groaned, sparing him from any trivial mumbo-jumbo.

"Maybe if you'd stop acting so pissy at me all the time."

"Please?" Miyagi grumbled, not an ounce of kindness in the tone of his voice.

"Pfft." Shinobu crossed his arms over his chest and stared across from himself, particularly at nothing.

"Stop with your immature, spoiled behaviour. It's not even cute," Miyagi remarked, standing a few feet away from him.

"I'm not even trying to be cute, ignorant dumbass," Shinobu hissed, scornfully. "You were the one who was always calling me that!"

"You're talking to a police officer, if you've completely forgotten. You're obligated to tell me anything I ask of you."

"Fuck that. It doesn't even have anything to do with you."

Miyagi furthermore narrowed his eyes. "You'd make a horrible partner, since you're so secretive," he mentioned as Shinobu peered up at him.

"Why the fuck would _you_ care?" he muttered, silently.

"It just makes me so glad that I rejected you," Miyagi stated, probably a little _too_ harshly. "You have so much growing up to do."

Shinobu snapped and stood up in front of the taller Miyagi, more pissed off than Miyagi had _ever_ seen him.

"You've already rejected me! Why do you have to make this so fucking difficult for me?" Shinobu exclaimed, squeezing his fists tightly. "Stop rubbing it into my face!"

"What? That you're so much of a pampered child that you'd never be able to handle so much as a simple relationship? Just look at you right now― all I'm doing is telling you the blunt truth, yet you're making a big ruckus."

"You haven't even given me a chance!" Shinobu slammed Miyagi's chest with his fist. "Stop treating me so shitty! I haven't even done anything bad to you, so stop making fun of me!"

"What did Kei want from you?"

"All he did was ask me to consider going out with his half-sister, since she apparently has some crush on me! But I already told her today that I'm not interested! Happy now?" Shinobu looked so torn up, like he wasn't even sure what to say or do.

"You should have accepted. Then maybe you would have been able to convince me that you can handle a relationship. And better yet, maybe you'd fall for _her_ instead," Miyagi said, staring into the blonde's stormy gray eyes.

"I don't want her, I want _you_!"

"You have fucking screwed up judgement. This little fantasy of yours―"

"It's _**not**_ a fantasy!" Shinobu loudly interrupted.

"Well it's _definitely_ not a reality."

"Fuck you!"

"And it will _never_ become a reality," Miyagi finished, feeling so damn guilty and stupid. Shinobu's pale cheeks were puffing out a bit and his eyes were raging with a flaming fury for Miyagi. But still, the boy was also getting a bit teary.

"I… hate you…!" Shinobu said in a strangled whisper.

Miyagi tried to prevent himself from saying it, but it slipped out before he was able to catch it. "It's about time."

The loud beeping sound of the microwave offered a piercing pitch that cancelled out any other source of noise. It stopped abruptly, as Miyagi and Shinobu simply glared hard at one another. The teen then shoved past Miyagi and stormed over to his bedroom, locking himself inside, before he would have melted down in front of Miyagi.

The cop's mind was in a thick haze, clouded with thoughts of nothing but how badly he screwed up. He thought he should've gone to follow Shinobu, to offer words of comfort and apologize for being so inconsiderate. But he also thought it would be much better if he would let the teenager cool off by himself. Miyagi went over to the microwave to retrieve some instant ramen for lunch.

He didn't like eating alone.

* * *

Shinobu wasn't crying in his bedroom― it was actually far from it. He was pissed, angry, upset.

He wasn't sure what Miyagi wanted from him, or even what he wanted from himself. Everything was a complete, disastrous mess. Miyagi had said some stuff about him unable to handle a relationship or being so naïve or whatever. Maybe that was it. Shinobu was inexperienced and an utter newbie. It could easily be fixed… but would it make a difference? Would it make things better or worse?

Time for Shinobu to take a gamble at it.

He grabbed his cellphone, punched in Aki's cell number that Kei gave him, and dialled. She answered after a couple of rings.

"Aki. I'm sorry about today, but I want to reconsider," Shinobu said, without even greeting her or letting her greet him. He just wanted to do this.

She sounded a bit confused at the other end, maybe flustered, so Shinobu made it simpler.

"Will you please go out with me?"

Shinobu didn't find that so hard… he wondered why he always heard people complaining about how hard and difficult it was to ask a girl out. But it was so simple.

"… _Sure_," Aki responded on the other end. She had one of those softer voices that people thought of as 'sweet' or 'innocent.' Shinobu also liked her voice since it was soothing and would offer plenty of support if someone was sad or upset. "_Thanks for asking me_."

"No problem… but there's some things we can't do just yet," Shinobu said. "Like dating outside of school. Or just simply being together alone outside of school." Having a date with Miyagi tagging along wouldn't be the most romantic setting possible.

"_Why's that_?" she inquired, curiously.

"It's kind of like a personal thing that's going on right now. We can later onwards, though," Shinobu explained, wondering if he'd even still be with Aki when Miyagi leaves.

"_Okay. I understand_," she said. "_Hey, you're getting a really good grade in law class, aren't you?_" Aki inquired, randomly changing the subject completely.

"I am," Shinobu responded, confused. He didn't understand anything that was considered to be 'female.'

"_In that case, do you understand number eleven on page 379 of our textbook?_"

"Hold on a second…" Shinobu used his shoulder to balance the cellphone against his ear while he scrambled to yank his textbook out of his bag.

"_Sorry for the trouble_," Aki muttered on the other line.

"Nah, it's fine." Shinobu quickly flipped over a bunch of pages until he reached the right question. "Oh, this is easy. I can explain it to you," he offered.

"_Will you?_" She sounded very happy and relieved.

"Sure. Where are you?"

"_I'm near the university, outside of a store_," she responded.

"'Kay. Go to the university and wait for me. I'll be there soon," he promised. Wow. It was already going to be his first face-to-face meeting with his new girlfriend. He never saw that coming a few minutes ago.

"_Thanks, Takatsuki_."

"Call me Shinobu. And bye," the blonde said, hanging up. He recollected his belongings and almost stumbled his way out, but stopped at the door.

Now… he had to face Miyagi.

Would it be alright to tell him that he suddenly had a girlfriend? How would Shinobu feel when he sees Miyagi? Would Miyagi be okay once he found out that Shinobu had a partner?

Well… _obviously_ Miyagi wouldn't care. It was what that asshole _wanted_, in the first place. He'd be happy― more than happy― to hear of it. Shinobu just wondered… if he would be able to actually convince Miyagi that he didn't hold any feelings toward him anymore.

Shinobu himself knew for a fact that it wasn't anywhere near true― he would never run out of love for Miyagi. Even though he had said earlier that he 'hated' the man, it was just the spur of the moment thing. He had seen couples do that all the time when they got angry.

Shinobu finally twisted the knob to his door, after deeply inhaling, and come out refreshed. Miyagi was in the kitchen, throwing his empty noodle cup away. The blonde's heart began racing, though he slowly approached him anyway.

"Miyagi…"

The cop turned to him.

"Shinobu."

They stared at each other. Neither didn't seem to know what to say.

Miyagi spoke first. "Are you okay?" he asked, hesitantly.

"Mm hm."

"You know, about all that stuff we were arguing about before―"

"Miyagi, I need to get to the university," Shinobu interrupted. He didn't want to remember their fighting-like bickering. Miyagi quirked a brow.

"Why so urgent? You haven't even eaten yet," Miyagi mentioned.

"But…" Shinobu swallowed. "I told someone that I'd meet her there," he stated.

Miyagi smirked. "You finally got yourself a _girl~friend_?" he teased. Shinobu's eyes slightly widen. He hadn't seen that playful side of the man ever since he had confessed.

He missed it so unbearably much.

"Um…" Shinobu looked down at his feet. "Yeah."

Miyagi blinked in confusion. "'Yeah' what?"

"'Yeah' to what you just said."

"… What did I say?"

Shinobu's brow twitched. The guy was an idiot. He was so stupid and forgetful. Not to mention, a total dork.

"You asked me if I finally got myself a girlfriend," Shinobu reminded.

"What about that?"

"_Yeah_, I got a girlfriend," Shinobu huffed, annoyed.

Miyagi's eyes budged at the young lad.

"…"

"…"

"… Seriously?"

"Yeah," Shinobu muttered. "She's waiting for me. Drive me to the university," he commanded.

"Do you _really_ have one?" Miyagi asked.

"Yes, I have one. Her name is Aki. She's Kei's half-sister. She's nice," Shinobu explained, trying to ring a bell in Miyagi's brain.

"Oh." Miyagi glanced down at the ground, an astonished expression set on his face, and he slowly cupped a hand over his mouth. Shinobu wasn't sure what to think of that.

"… Aren't you okay with that?" Shinobu asked, snapping Miyagi out of his blank stare at the floor.

"Eh? Of course I am." Miyagi smiled― Shinobu's chest ached. "I'm happy for you, Shinobu. Congratulations."

Shinobu saddened. "… Thanks…"

"This 'Aki' chick is lucky to have you. And… I'm glad you've made this decision," he said, petting the blonde head.

The boy opened his mouth for a simple 'thanks,' but he couldn't get anything out. He loved Miyagi, and wanted to be with him.

"Let's not keep her waiting," Miyagi said, scooting Shinobu along. The two men walked out the door and began to head for the university. At that point, Shinobu began to doubt that Miyagi would _ever_ return his feelings.

Love was such a pain in the ass.

* * *

When Shinobu first told him about it, he wasn't even sure he had heard him right. Then, he just didn't believe the boy. After that, he was completely shocked. Lastly, he had all sorts of mixed feelings.

It was as though two sides of him were arguing with each other; one saying that Shinobu was doing the right thing, and the other saying that it wasn't right since Shinobu was supposed to be in love with _him_. He didn't even think it was possibly for someone to fall out of love so quickly.

Or maybe, the boy never truly did feel for Miyagi in the first place. Miyagi was so uncertain about the entire situation. Also about himself. Because before Shinobu announced to him about it, he kept on boasting that Shinobu should have gotten a pretty girlfriend. But now that Shinobu actually listened, Miyagi doubted it.

At the moment, they were on their way to the designated place. The drive was relatively silent, but they soon arrived to the parking lot. Shinobu glanced to the side of the car, and soon spotted her.

"That's Aki," he pointed out.

"She looks nice," Miyagi complimented.

"Want to meet her?" Shinobu inquired, opening the passenger door.

"It's fine. You just go…"

"I'll see you later, Miyagi." Shinobu carefully climbed out and shut the door with a big thud, before he walked over to the young girl who was waiting patiently for his arrival.

Miyagi decided to watch the show by looking through the rear-view mirror. The two hugged in a friend-like way very briefly then walked inside right away.

Miyagi frowned and started up the engine again. If Shinobu had a new girlfriend, he wondered how things were going to change for the two of them in the future. He liked how the two of them were before all the drama began to occur.

He hoped they weren't going to stop spending lunches with each other… since it was always a time where they would always spend _together_. And Miyagi treasured any moment like that even though they previously used to always be with each other. Also, he wondered if it would in any way influence Shinobu's personality. He didn't think so, but it was a considerable possibility.

In any case, Miyagi hoped Aki wouldn't take too much Shinobu-chin away from him.

* * *

"You must be _lonely_!" Hiroki remarked as both he and Miyagi settled into a table at a small café, after Miyagi had called him up.

"I can't help it!" Miyagi complained, childishly. "It's already been three whole _days_ since we're had lunch together! Actually, four days since the last time… we had a fight…" Miyagi buried his face into his hands and groaned, terrifyingly miserable. "And whenever we're both at home, all he'd do is chat away in his bedroom with her, either over the internet or on the phone!"

"Calm down, calm down," Hiroki chanted, bored. "Geez, just look at you― you're such a mess!"

"It's almost as though I completely lost him!" the older officer whined.

"Yeah, yeah."

"What should I do? How did it come down to this?"

"Well, if you really love him that much, then maybe you shouldn't have rejected him in the first place," Hiroki mentioned, nonchalantly. A waitress came by and Hiroki quickly ordered them a couple mugs of hot cocoa. The weather was getting quite chilly lately.

"I don't love guys, Kamijou…" he moaned, depressed. "I just want him back. The way we used to be."

"And how did you two used to be like?" the younger one asked, hardly interested.

"I dunno… like friends?" Miyagi took a random guess at it. "But it was only just the two of us before, and no one else."

"And because of that, the boss's brat fell for an idiot like you. If he has those sorts of feelings, then you can't just go back to being 'friends.' It would only hurt him," Hiroki counselled. The waitress returned and gave them their warm drinks.

"Then what should I do?"

"Nothing. Let him be― he's doing what's best for himself, since you're so unwilling to admit that you lov―"

"No! I'm not unwilling to admit anything!"

"Then why are you so opposed to letting him be with someone else?" Hiroki inquired.

Miyagi emitted a low, animalistic groan, burying his face into his arms, which laid over atop the table top. He then began to whimper and sulk, creating the most awkward atmosphere for Hiroki.

"You know, officer. You make thee absolute _worst_ company. Ever," the younger officer stated, not in the least bit impressed.

"I can't help it," he pouted. "It's like… a part of me is missing."

"You're giving us cops a bad name. You look. _Pathetic_."

"Shinobu-chin…! Why'd you have to go out with her? Right after you kept raving on and on about how you felt about _me_! Go back to being your cute, adorable, bratty, determined―"

Miyagi winced in pain when Hiroki's hand got a whole handful of his hair and yanked his head back up.

"Officer Miyagi! You're _hysterical_! You're speaking as though it's all directed to him, but he's not even here! Snap out of it!"

"I can't," the poor man whimpered. "I miss him too much."

"Then just _tell_ him that! Don't just call me up to meet you here so you can blubber away on your silly little issues that could have easily been avoided," Hiroki scolded, annoyed.

"Kamijou… do you have any alcohol?"

Hiroki's brow twitched. "No. Why?"

"Getting wasted makes me feel better…"

"We're not even allowed to drink during working hours!"

"We can smoke, right?"

Hiroki groaned in irritation. "_Yes_, we can smoke. I bet you've already gone through a shitload of cigarettes already during the past few days."

"Only eight packages."

"_Only_ eight packages. Right…" Hiroki observed his cop buddy search his pocket for a smoke. "… But this café is a non-smoking place. I saw a sign on the door when we came in."

"Why the hell did you bring me to a non-smoking joint? This is all your fault, Kamijou!" he cried, accusingly.

"You were the one who chose this place! Stop moping, fix your image, and have some damn decency!"

"I don't want decency! I want _Shinobu-chiiiiin_!"

The door to the café opened, and Hiroki gawked at the person who entered.

"Hey, officer. Isn't that your kid?" he inquired, observing the blonde teenager with large gray eyes. He was with a girl.

"Hmm?" he moped, lifelessly. "I don't have kids…"

"No! I meant your brat or client or mid-life crisis or whatever the boss's son is to you!"

"Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi lazily turned around to see what Hiroki was talked about.

What.

The.

Fuck?

It really _was_ Shinobu. What was that kid doing? That little twat. He should have known damn well that he wasn't supposed to go _anywhere_ without Miyagi, unless it was strictly school. And even worse. That brat had to go with Aki. Miyagi's eye brows furrowed as he called out Shinobu's name sternly, catching both teenager's attentions.

"Get your ass over here," he called out, not caring if anyone else at the café would hear.

Shinobu glared, but went over to the police officers nonetheless, leading his girlfriend along, as well.

"Why are you here?" the blonde grumbled.

"I should be asking you the same thing," Miyagi counteracted, somewhat pissed.

"We're hungry, idiot. The food at the Uni tastes like grease and saturated fat," Shinobu muttered.

"Right." Miyagi stood up and roughly grabbed Shinobu's wrist, with a firm tight grip.

"Wah―?"

"Excuse us, Aki-chan," Miyagi said to the confused female. "I need to give your BF a spanking," he muttered, darkly. He hoped 'BF' was the right abbreviation female teenagers liked to use for 'boyfriend.'

"What the hell?" Shinobu protested in confusion.

"Kamijou, entertain her," the older officer ordered, pulling the teen boy elsewhere in a more empty area of the joint.

Both Hiroki and Aki exchanged awkward glances as they were both left alone with each other, due to Miyagi's ignorant dumb ass personality.

"Sorry about this…" Hiroki grumbled to her, trying to think of a way to possibly 'entertain' her.

"… It's fine…" Aki responded, stiffly. It was always weird for someone to be left alone with an officer.

On the other end, Shinobu yanked his wrist back, pissed.

"What do you want?" the boy demanded.

"You should know damn well what!" Miyagi snapped, irritated. "You have a fucking stalker. If you want to go outside of school or home, you _have_ to go with _me_! Or at least with another officer!"

"It's not far from school, and it's only once! Nothing bad can happen," the blonde protested, annoyed. They weren't yelling that loudly― only so much to prove their anger and only so they can hear.

"You don't know that for sure, asshole. I'm taking you home," he announced to him. Miyagi reached out for Shinobu's hand, but the little punk stepped back, out of Miyagi's reach.

"I'm not going home now! Aki and I still have some notes we want to go over."

"Since when did _you_ ever study? You've always told me that you already know everything that they teach you kids," Miyagi huffed.

"Shut up. I help her with it, so butt out."

Miyagi swiftly reached out and successfully obtained Shinobu's soft hand. "C'mon. We're going home," Miyagi instructed, wondering since when did he like to call Shinobu's apartment 'their' home. Shinobu continued to struggle, stubbornly.

"I already told you― I want to help Aki." The blonde kept trying to wriggle and twist his hand back, but Miyagi was just too damn strong for any prevail.

"Brat. Don't make me _drag _you out. I don't want to cause a scene," Miyagi said, using his free hand to reach for his metal handcuffs attached to his belt. "Or make you look like a criminal. Especially in front of your precious _girlfriend_."

"Criminal?" Shinobu echoed, before gasping when his wrist that Miyagi had became captured in a strong metal cuff. "What the hell!" he bellowed, taken far aback.

"Think twice before you go anywhere without me, brat. You didn't even tell me about it," Miyagi murmured, pissed. He roughly got a hold of the boy's other hand (though much gentler than he would to a real criminal) and held it with the brat's other hand, snapping the other cuff around it. Shinobu uselessly attempted to yank his wrists apart, but nada prevail.

"Miyagi! Undo these things!" Shinobu demanded, his rage steaming off of him.

"Having your hands cuffed in front of you is far more comfortable than having them behind you. You should be thanking me."

"Please, Miyagi! It looks like I've committed a crime or something," he whined. Miyagi grabbed Shinobu's upper arm and pulled him closer.

"You have. You've been ignoring me nonstop. And you've disobeyed me just now." He squeezed a bit tighter, making Shinobu wince. Miyagi leaned near Shinobu's ear and whispered, "I don't like it."

"Th-that's your fault!" the frazzled boy stuttered. Miyagi wasn't too convinced of that.

"Want me to read you your rights?" Miyagi offered, pulling Shinobu back over to Aki and Hiroki.

Aki just stared, completely speechless of Shinobu looking miserable in handcuffs, while Hiroki's jaw completely dropped that Miyagi actually had to audacity of doing something like that to their boss's son.

"Kamijou, I'm going to be taking Shinobu now," Miyagi said, casually.

Shinobu silently grumbled, "When you get these off me, I'm gonna smash your balls in so hard, you won't even be able to―"

Miyagi bumped his elbow against Shinobu's side, preventing him from finishing his sentence.

"Ahahaha…" he laughed, awkwardly.

There were only a few other people who were inside the café at the time, yet they were all staring, wondering what was going on and why a young teenager was in handcuffs. Shinobu couldn't care less of what they thought, but it was very unpleasant.

And just when he thought it couldn't get any worse, he spotted his law teacher peering inside the café. Mori-sensei appeared fairly confused and uncertain as to what was going on, so he came inside. If something like that would in any way affect how Shinobu was doing in school, Shinobu would very much consider beating the shit out of his very loyal bodyguard.

"Hey… what's going on?" his teacher asked. The workers of the café were all confused, most-likely debating whether or not to just simply kick all of them out or not. But they probably didn't feel too privileged to evict two officers from the place.

"Nothing," Shinobu grumbled. "Let's just leave, Miyagi."

"After all the lectures I've been giving my class about the law and such, you didn't go out and commit a felony, did you, Takatsuki?" Mori-sensei inquired, not sounding too pleased.

"Not to worry, Shinobu's sensei," Miyagi said, smiling. "Your student will only be placed under house arrest for the remaining duration of lunch time, while I straighten him out on a couple of things."

"Bull shit," Shinobu muttered, almost inaudible, receiving another elbow jab from Miyagi.

"If my lectures aren't doing him any good, then I hope yours will," Mori-sensei grumbled. "I'll see you in class, Takatsuki Shinobu. You too, Ikeda Aki."

"Bye, sensei," Shinobu muttered, while Aki nervously said it.

"Try not to give any other staff members from Uni a negative impression of you. You wouldn't want any unnecessary trouble from the chairman," he explained.

"Mm hmm," Shinobu moaned.

"You'll never get expelled because of your grades, unfortunately, but the chairman's still very annoying. Just a heads up for next time," his sensei concluded, taking his leave from the café joint.

Miyagi tried to hold back a chuckle. "Your teacher doesn't like you," he observed.

"Shut _up_. I'm a bad student, so whatever," he muttered, aggravated. "Let's _go_ so I can kick your fucking ass at home!" The boy stormed over to the front door and uncomfortably opened it with his two hands stuck together in front of him. "I'll text you later, Aki!" he called, before letting himself hunt down Miyagi's car.

The older cop turned to Hiroki and Aki. Hiroki appeared to be completely stuck dumbfounded, as Aki appeared quite beady-eyed.

"Hiroki, make sure Aki-chan gets back to the Uni safely. Bye," he quickly said, dashing out to catch up with the raging teenager stuck in handcuffs. Miyagi had no idea what to expect when they'd reach home.

* * *

Shinobu used his leg to smash his door open, after Miyagi had unlocked it. Miyagi hoped the boy didn't break it. Shinobu marched over in front of the couch as Miyagi followed.

"Get me out of these damn things!" Shinobu demanded, holding his clenching fists out in front of the officer.

"… No," he nervously responded.

"Why the hell not?"

"… You're scary right now."

"Miyagi!" Shinobu wasn't in the mood for Miyagi's dorky comments or remarks. He wasn't humiliated after what happened, although he didn't feel too glad that it did occur, either. And also that stuff Miyagi had said about him being ignored and not liking it. Shinobu couldn't help but be angry that Miyagi blamed that stuff on _him_.

"No, Shinobu. Think about what you've done just now," Miyagi said, serious again.

"I didn't do anything!" Shinobu angrily denied.

"You went out into the open streets without anyone there to ensure your safety! What do you think would happen if you were to run into your friendly little stalker? Do you have any idea how worried I would be if something were to happen to you?" Miyagi exclaimed.

"I can take care of myself!"

"No, you _can't_. You never even called to inform me that you were leaving the university! You have to tell me where you are at _all_ times! That's your responsibility of having me around, so I can perform a good job of keeping you safe."

Shinobu growled, "I _know_ all that shit already!"

"If you did, then you would have gone through with it. You completely bared yourself for all sorts of danger, and even worse― you put _Aki_ in danger! It would have been terrible if something happened to her, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, but what were the chances of something bad actually happening? This stalker person hardly even does that much."

"When put into your situation, you must consider every possibility that might happen. We can't risk letting anything happen to you, so you need to cooperate with us," Miyagi muttered, after most of his anger flowed out of him.

"Fine! I get it already," Shinobu grumbled, staring down at his feet. "It won't happen again."

"Are you certain?"

"Yes," Shinobu huffed. He wanted Miyagi to stop being angry at him, since he never enjoyed it. But ever since that one day when Shinobu told him how he truly felt, all the two would do was argue with each other. Sometimes over the most stupid things.

"I hope you're being honest," Miyagi said, folding his arms. "I wanted to be with you during your lunch breaks, but if you keep continuing to spend them with your girl, then just keep it at the university.

"… You still want to spend my lunch breaks with me?" Shinobu inquired.

"At least I'd know if you were doing anything stupid," Miyagi stated.

Shinobu sighed. "I should have known as much. You don't give a shit about the times we spend to together because we can have each other's company. You only think and care about it because it's your damn job," he grumbled. "To you, I've always been nothing more than just another client."

"You have a girlfriend now. Those sorts of things shouldn't bother you anymore," Miyagi stated.

"But… they do! It's like I'm just your priority to keep safe. I want to be more than that," he muttered, sadly.

"Brat. Commit to Aki, not me. I told you many times that I can never come to love you more than how I did before."

"I think you can. You're just scared to give me a chance," Shinobu stated matter-of-factly, annoyed.

"Haven't you ever heard of giving up?" Miyagi asked, running a hand through his thick hair. "Think about you and your partner instead," the cop suggested.

"I want _you_ to be my partner," Shinobu stated, narrowing his eyes. "I still love you, Miyagi!"

Miyagi sighed. "Then what about _her_?"

"I don't know! Whenever I see couples in the hallway or outside, they're all fluffy and lovey-dovey and shit, but she and I are just like study-buddies! I don't even know if she actually did have a crush on me when I asked her out― she never shows it," he explained.

"You're a bad boyfriend…" Miyagi remarked.

"Shut up! It's not like _you'd_ know!" Shinobu snapped, flushing.

"But you're supposed to be with her, and yet you try to woo me, instead."

"And if you'd let me be with you, that would turn me into a good partner!"

"Stay with Aki. You two have much more in common since you're both in the same university. She makes you study more, which is better for you."

"But I don't feel anything for her, and she doesn't show any feelings for me." Shinobu had no idea how to actually reach Miyagi.

No matter how much he'd try to convince the man, he'd always get nudged away. And then they'd fight without properly making up. Then they'd always just pretend none of it had ever occurred the next time they'd see each other, and a whole new argument would arise between the two.

Shinobu was sick and tired of it. He wanted Miyagi to just give in and see how they would go from there, since the blonde knew that he'd never be able to forget and give up on Miyagi.

"I'm sure you and her can soon start to―"

"_No_! No, we _can't_!"

"You know, this is really starting to be a real pain in the ass…" Miyagi muttered, narrowing his eyes.

"Then stop rejecting me all the time!" Shinobu exclaimed.

"Since I can't accept, I must reject. Deal with it," Miyagi huffed.

"There's not even any reason! Just give me a fucking chance!" Shinobu ordered, quite loudly.

Miyagi was glaring, almost deathly. Shinobu couldn't even tell if the man truly loathed and despised him at that point.

"You want a chance?" Miyagi asked, reaching into his pocket to retrieve the tiny key to the handcuffs.

"_Yes_!"

"Fine." Miyagi calmly took the cuffs off of Shinobu's slim wrists. As he did so, Shinobu's glare slooowly faded into a dumbfounded expression as his mind processed to register what Miyagi had just said.

"… What?" the boy questioned, stupefied.

"I said fine. I'll give you a chance," Miyagi huffed, reattaching the metal handcuffs to his belt.

"… Really?"

Miyagi's frown remained. "Why are you so surprised?"

Shinobu blinked, regaining his composure. He just… never expected Miyagi to give into him so abruptly. He thought it would happen eventually, yet not that soon.

"I'm not surprised…" Shinobu said, blushing.

"Alright, then." Miyagi took a step closer to the teenage blonde as the boy peered up at him. "We'll start off with kissing," he said, bluntly.

Shinobu's face nearly exploded into a blushing crimson red. He hadn't even kissed Aki, yet Miyagi wanted it so soon…

"O-okay," the boy stuttered, nervously.

"You do it," Miyagi instructed. Shinobu gawked up at him as Miyagi said, "Let me feel your passion towards me."

"M-me?"

"Is there anybody else here?"

"Oh…" Shinobu swallowed in slight fear, but he knew he was capable of doing the task. He wasn't at all familiar with giving kisses, so he wasn't even sure what to do with his hands or whether to pucker or use his tongue or anything like that. All he knew was that he had to do it, otherwise Miyagi would reconsider.

But… with the man watching him so intensely, it was by far the most nerve-wracking thing Shinobu ever had to face. His nervous anxiety was causing his arms to shake a bit as Shinobu reached up and placed both hands gently onto Miyagi's tense shoulders.

The boy then slowly inched himself closer, leaving a small gap of blank space to separate their bodies.

His heart rate was so intense that he was able to hear and feel it jump within his chest.

Miyagi made no such effort to help or provide comfort for the young teenager and just stood there, observing each and every move, as well as facial expressions.

To reach Miyagi's moist lips, Shinobu stood on his tippy toes and extended his height by a small fraction. Then, he squeezed his eyes shut and pursed his lips as he motionlessly pressed them against Miyagi's.

Neither of the two did anything to enhance the so-called 'kiss' as Shinobu pulled away after a split second.

He opened his large eyes once again and started to pant a bit, as though what he had just attempted to do was as straining as a workout.

He and Miyagi exchanged glances― Miyagi didn't appear impressed.

"That's it?" he asked.

Shinobu's eyes started to well up and he bit his bottom lip in embarrassment. "I-I can do better…!" he uttered, the humiliation running deep.

"Don't try to," Miyagi ordered, while Shinobu felt the man's hands land on his lower back as well as behind his neck. "Now, it's my turn."

Shinobu let out a short-breathed gasp as his body soon forcefully collided with Miyagi's, when Miyagi yanked him closer. The hand on his neck moved upwards a bit, to allow his fingers weave through the boy's hair and to keep his lips from going nowhere.

The arm around the boy's waist kept his body intact.

Miyagi held nothing back and smashed their lips together, swivelling his hot tongue inside of Shinobu's mouth. His tongue moved with confidence, tasting everywhere and meshing around with Shinobu's.

Shinobu squeezed his eyes shut and tried to keep up, although he could predict that the cop had more experience in doing that sort of thing.

After expertly stroking his tongue against Shinobu's, in a kiss that could have very well bruised Shinobu's plush swollen lips, Miyagi retreated and opened his eyes to intensely gaze into Shinobu's gray orbs.

His breathing fell as a bit heavier than before as his hands moved down to sides of Shinobu's hips. Miyagi gently used his hands to guide Shinobu into sitting down on the couch and he came down beside the boy.

"Lie down," he instructed, moving his hands onto the boy's shoulders for extra pressure to do so.

"W-wait…" Shinobu pleaded, feeling his lips tremble when he'd open them. "What're we―?"

Another enthusiastic blow of the lips cut his question off, and this time Miyagi used it to his own advantage to push the boy down into a laying position.

While Miyagi ravaged Shinobu's mouth with his tongue, he also put his weight onto his hands that were being used to pin Shinobu's wrists up beside his head.

The boy underneath him occasionally emitted small whimpers or short moans, yet didn't do anything to protest. There were small beads of salty water forming at the corners of each of his eyes, however.

Miyagi then grazed past Shinobu's cheek to suck onto his neck, while one of his hands abandoned a wrist. It travelled down Shinobu's upper body and lifted his shirt up, snaking up underneath the boy's clothes.

Shinobu gasped and cried out when a sudden painful tweak was placed on his left nipple. Miyagi's mouth let go of the area of skin on Shinobu's neck, where a large bruise-like mark was now present at.

He pulled himself back up and towered over the frightened teen and his knees propped himself up between Shinobu's two legs.

"Shinobu," he spoke, as a hand caressed a cheek. His other hand pulled Shinobu's shirt up, all the way to Shinobu neck and exposed his lean mid-section and chest to the man. "Stop shaking. This is what couples do," he stated.

Shinobu himself wasn't even sure if they were ready to proceed in whatever Miyagi was advancing to do, yet he didn't want that to show. Instead, he nodded his head and tightly grabbed onto the fabric of the couch.

Miyagi lowered his head down and nipped at Shinobu's hard nipple. With the other one, his fingers pressed and squeezed at it, causing Shinobu to try and hold back any such moans or whimpers.

The boy was somehow frightened in that situation, even though it was what he apparently wanted. Miyagi told him that it was what couples did, although to him it didn't feel like there was much love involved. He didn't have to courage to ask Miyagi to stop.

Shinobu felt so sensitive. Wherever Miyagi would touch or lick at, it would have some sort of effect on him. He'd have an urge to arch his back or his breathing would fall even heavier.

He'd want to gasp and writhe when Miyagi would pinch or pull.

He never felt more vulnerable in his life.

Even though he trusted Miyagi to the fullest extent, he wondered if Miyagi had other motives by doing all of that.

"Miyagi," he whimpered, pulling his blonde hair through his fingers.

"Spread your legs a bit more," Miyagi murmured against Shinobu's bare skin. The man peered up to see Shinobu's face and Shinobu couldn't help but do as instructed.

Below at his genital area, Shinobu gasped loudly when he felt Miyagi's hand slip underneath his pants and boxers. Miyagi's face came back up to reclaim those lips some more, preventing the boy from being too noisy.

Shinobu gripped at the clothes covering Miyagi's chest, bracing himself for what he was going to feel next down there. A small tear that he was struggling to keep from falling accidently slid down the side of his face.

But what he was expecting never came.

Miyagi's hand had stopped travelling closer to in between the boy's legs and he kept staring at the boy.

"If you want me to stop, then say it to me," Miyagi said, his voice softened a bit.

"It's… fine!" Shinobu denied, wiping away the trail of water left of his face.

"It isn't fine," Miyagi argued, pulling Shinobu's shirt back down to cover his body. "_This_ is exactly why we can't we together. Our age gap is massive. If I was doing something wrong, it would be tough for me to tell. And you probably wouldn't tell me. And you're not ready for this stuff," he huffed, getting off of the teenager.

Shinobu closed his legs and slowly sat back up, very unnoticeably trembling. He fully avoided any sort of eye contact with Miyagi and rubbed his mouth with the back of his hand.

"…"

"I'm sorry. But it's just best for everyone," Miyagi concluded.

It was silence while the kid reflected on what just happened between them. He wished it could have gone differently and that he wasn't so much of a coward. It only proved Miyagi to be right. Shinobu didn't believe Miyagi would ever accept him after that. But Shinobu couldn't stop loving him while continuing to be with him.

So what was he going to possibly do to fix it?

"Your lunch break is almost over," Miyagi reminded, hesitantly.

"… I… don't want to go back today…" Shinobu whispered, standing up onto his two feet. "I need to stay home…"

"Alright," Miyagi said, to Shinobu's surprise.

"…" The boy walked in a very zombie-like way, past Miyagi and into his bedroom. He considered to take a shower, but didn't feel like doing anything but lying down alone.

He wished he never fell in love in the first place.

* * *

**AN: I'm so sorry that they kept on fighting and fighting. I hated writing things like that, and it was also difficult at some points. I want to get this sad phase of the story over and done with **

**In any case, please review.**


	12. Hasty Decisions

**AN: I obviously don't own Junjou Romantica or Terrorist or whatever. Another sad chapter, although not as much as the last one, in my opinion. And a very **_**looooong**_** one as well, which I apologize for.**

**Word count: 10,623**

**Warning: There's a somewhat sexual moment in this chapter; I won't spoil anything. But it's not sex, if that's what you're thinking/hoping for xD**

* * *

'_What the hell did I just do? WhatthehelldidIjustdo? __**WhatthehelldidIjustdoooooo**__?'_

Miyagi couldn't believe himself. He almost… did _things_ with Shinobu. Rejecting and hurting his feelings were one thing, but feverish kissing and sexually toying with his upper body was a whole other thing. And even worse, he almost vandalized the minor's _lower _body!

Miyagi buried his face into his hands and doubled over, sitting on the couch where everything had previously taken place half an hour ago.

He couldn't understand how he was feeling, what he was doing, what Shinobu was thinking― nothing made sense anymore. All the times he was away from Shinobu, he yearned to see him and be around him. When he wasn't around the brat, things didn't feel like the way they should have felt.

He wasn't able to distinguish the right and the wrong.

Times like that called for desperate measures. It was time to call professional help.

The man grabbed his cellphone and dialled.

"… _Hello_?"

"Kamijou. You're still on your lunch break, right?"

Miyagi heard the man heave an aggravated sigh on the other end.

"_I have ten minutes left. And I dropped you brat's girlfriend back to the university. You shouldn't have left her with me, asshole! Do you have any idea how utterly awkward things were? How the hell was I supposed to know what to talk about with a teenage girl! You know, it would have been much smarter if you had just_―"

"Kamijou, I'm sorry about that," Miyagi spoke solemnly into the phone.

"… _What's wrong? You apologising with such seriousness means there definitely has to be something wrong_."

"You have a lot of experience with relationships, don't you?" Miyagi inquired. "You've been married for like… how long?"

"_NOT married for seven years_," Hiroki corrected, annoyed.

"Then you have lots of experience. Good."

"… _What the hell are you getting at, officer_?"

Miyagi raked a hand through his spikey ebony hair. "Well… um… you remember Shinobu-chin, don't you?"

"_The poor kid whom you've hauled away from his girlfriend almost forty minutes ago. What, did you finally give into him_?"

"Not exactly." Miyagi forced a fake chuckle and continued, "… But… if I were to say that I did something really stupid, what would you tell me?"

"_Define 'stupid_,'" Hiroki huffed.

"Stupid as in: forcefully kissed him, pushed him onto the couch, and sexually assaulted him…"

"_You did __**WHAT**_?"

Miyagi gazed down lifelessly at the floor. "Don't make me repeat it…" he requested, silently and shamefully.

He heard Hiroki groan on the other end. "_I'd say that you're too idiotic for words, tell the kid how you __**really**__ feel, and be done with it_," he advised.

"It's not that simple! And besides, I've already explained many times how I've felt," Miyagi grumbled, wishing there was an easy way out.

"_Trust me. You haven't_."

Miyagi furrowed his brows. "You know nothing! Go back to work, you slacker!" he accused with immaturity.

"_You're the one who called me up! And I'm still on my lunch break!_"

"You know, I can handle this _without_ your assistance!" he threatened, as though it would really cause any inconvenience for the other man.

"_Good! Then do it!_"

Miyagi grimaced and flipped his phone shut, cutting off the other cop. He stood and marched straight toward Shinobu's bedroom. Miyagi then paused in front of the door, deeply inhaling and exhaling, to allow his nerves to settle down.

Miyagi nearly barged right on in, but he caught himself before he did so, to calmly knock on the wooden door.

"Shinobu-chin?" he called. Silence was the only response, which made Miyagi worry a bit. "Are you alright?"

"… I'm fine," Miyagi heard from inside the room, very faintly. The cop frowned, mainly at himself since he wasn't convinced that anyone would truly be 'fine' only half an hour after an incident like that occurred. Miyagi wasn't sure how it had affected the brat, but he wanted to undo any damage… if Shinobu would let him, of course.

"I'm coming in anyway," he bluntly informed, swinging the door open to step right on in. Shinobu was merely sitting on the edge of his bed, staring at the lifeless ground.

The boy's mind must have been in overdrive, just like Miyagi's was. The only difference was that Shinobu was the innocent party, whereas Miyagi pretty well done the equivalence of sexually attacking him.

Knowing that he had allowed himself to completely lose it before was like a sharp knife penetrating his insides; it gave him an urge to double over and take a step back in time for an opportunity to undo the damage.

"Shinobu-chin." Miyagi sat down on the bed, almost touching the boy. He observed the kid― he looked like such a small child. Shinobu shifted over a little distance away from Miyagi, forming a small separating gap. "You don't have to distance yourself from me, brat. I'm not going to do that again."

"… I know…"

"I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me."

"… Okay…"

Miyagi's eyes narrowed as he stared at Shinobu, who blatantly refused to return the eye contact. "Stop sulking― I know I probably shouldn't have forced you down and… done those kinds of things to you, but I really am sorry."

"I'm not sulking, I'm thinking," Shinobu argued.

"About what?"

"Nothing."

Miyagi heaved a sigh. "You can't be thinking about nothing. Stop being so distant…" He reached out to stroke Shinobu's beautiful hair, but the boy moved back, avoiding the touch that he would normally love to indulge in. Shinobu faced Miyagi, staring into his confused dark eyes with his own stormy ones.

"You were the one who was being so distant from me these past few days. You kept acting like I was a nuisance and you wanted _anything_ but to be around me― like you h-hated me."

Miyagi's brow rose as he suddenly quenched in worry and concern… mostly remorse. "That's not…" he trailed off at the pained expression Shinobu was wearing.

"I get it, Miyagi," Shinobu whispered, staring down at the blank white blankets they say atop of. "You'll never bring yourself to love me and you'll never want to love me, either. I'm too young for you… and I'd be a threat to your job." The boy paused, ducking his head a tiny bit and swallowed. "A-And I'm a guy…"

Miyagi had a strong urge to embrace Shinobu. His hand moved an inch, but his body flinched. Miyagi's brow knitted together and his mind scolded himself, '_No more holding back. Stop tearing him apart― stop confusing yourself_.'

The man positioned himself about, moving closer to the fragile teen. Shinobu looked up and Miyagi brought him to his chest, binding him within his strong arms and snuggled his cheek against Shinobu's blonde hair.

Shinobu remained perfectly still and Miyagi breathed in his sweet scent while wordlessly caressing his unusually tense back.

Miyagi didn't think that he actually loved the brat… but he knew for a fact that he certainly cared for him. He cared about him more than anything he could think of― more than anyone he could name.

Shinobu raised his arms up and gently placed them on Miyagi's sides. The man's brows rose when he noticed that Shinobu was actually trying to push himself away.

Slightly discouraged, Miyagi loosened his grip around Shinobu, allowing the boy to relatively break away from the man. Miyagi's hands lied limply around Shinobu's slender waist as they each gazed at each other.

"… I want to take a shower," the blonde informed, waiting for Miyagi to fully release him. The man blinked, staring into such dull gray eyes.

"Now? You just had one this morning. Why're you…"

One of Shinobu's hands left Miyagi and he gently ran his fingertips over the side of his neck― the exact location where Miyagi sucked, bit, nipped, and licked. The man gawked, eyes widening, at the large bruise-like mark he had left on the boy's virgin skin.

The physical evidence of his assault allowed the hard-felt regret to rampage over the police officer. There was probably more too. Underneath the boy's shirt, there wasn't a doubt that Miyagi had plotted some hickeys around his chest, mainly around his nipples.

"I-I can still feel…"

Miyagi placed a couple of fingers over Shinobu's lips, purposely cutting his words off― Miyagi didn't want to hear them.

"Go wash yourself," he ordered, letting his hand drop from the kid's plush lips. At the police station, it was often when they would see people who were victims of rape or sexual harassment. A lot of them described the feeling as… _dirty_.

Miyagi didn't want Shinobu to feel like that.

Shinobu slowly got off of the bed and searched his drawers for some clean clothes. Miyagi didn't watch him― he merely gazed down solemnly at the blonde's poufy blankets. The pad of his fingertip traced delicately at the sewn up threads while a million thoughts poured into his mind.

He wondered if there would ever be a way to make it up to Shinobu, how long it would take until things could go back to normal― would things _ever_ go back to normal?

The man looked up when the teenage exited the room, leaving the bedroom door open but shutting the bathroom door right across from it.

… Did Shinobu hate… or even despise Miyagi now?

* * *

Shinobu didn't feel like standing, so he decided to take a bath instead. Inside his spacey bathroom, he quickly plugged the drain and let warm water stampede out of the faucet. While that was filling up, the blonde stood in front of the mirror, examining his reflection.

He looked exactly as he felt: sad, heartbroken, and confused.

His feelings for Miyagi were most definitely undying and over-lasting― no matter what the circumstance. But Miyagi… blatantly refused to let his heart touch his. They were both so stubborn to give up, and every second of it was anguish.

Shinobu dreamt of a paradise― a world where Miyagi loved him. It replayed in his mind countless times, as well as numerous other dreams where they had kissed and touched and expressed their love, verbally. They had never made love in any of them― that only left Shinobu to imagine what sleeping with Miyagi could've possibly been like.

Shinobu had always believed that a time where they'd give their entire beings to one another and make passionate sultry love would eventually arrive one day. But now… it was slowly fading. He was questioning whether or not Miyagi was actually correct when he'd explain that Shinobu's dreams were misleading― mere faux of Shinobu's imagination. Just the thought of that being the reality made Shinobu afraid of falling asleep.

Shinobu eyed the visible hickey on his otherwise pale neck, where Miyagi's tongue ravaged. He touched it ever so gently and closed his gray eyes, recalling the fierce movements of Miyagi's tongue against his raw skin.

He was pretty frightened when it happened, but out of anyone in the world who could have attacked him like that, Shinobu couldn't have been any more glad that Miyagi was the one to have had done it.

Shinobu opened his eyes halfway as he lifted his shirt up and over his head, revealing himself his bare, pale chest and mid-section― also where Miyagi touched him not so long ago. There were also some marks scattered around mainly his chest.

The teen glanced over at the tub and turned the faucet off, seeing as it had already contained enough water. Shinobu quickly stripped out of his remaining clothing, carelessly tossing his pants, socks, and navy blue boxers into a crumbled heap on the floor.

After stepping nude into the steamy water, he laid back and indulged in the warm heat, resting his head at the edge. He had a bath pillow there for further comfort.

Gazing down at his blurred body form indulged in water, he rested a hand over his chest. The feeling of Miyagi's hands rubbing all over his body was as vivid as ever in his memory. Shinobu loved the man… he wasn't sure if he wanted to wash away the physical feelings of his rough confident hands or his swift teasing tongue away.

What happened between them was emotionally scary and unpleasant. But Shinobu still yearned for Miyagi to touch and taste him… he wanted the man to _take_ him. As his partner, lover, and soul mate.

Shinobu's fingers found a pert nipple― the one that Miyagi was pinching at. The other one, as Shinobu could recall, was the one that Miyagi was sucking and nipping at…

The youthful blonde closed his hazed eyes shut and pressed the firm bud with his thumb pad. He deeply inhaled and exhaled through his nose, picturing it was Miyagi who was feeling him, while he picked up the pace and traced his finger around it… mimicking how Miyagi once did it.

His other hand travelled up and down his navel. Shinobu's eyelids covering his pupils produced an ebony blindness for the depths of his imagination to spark up. He thought of that old man hovering over him and pleasuring them both using Shinobu's sensitive body.

He imagined his own movements as Miyagi's and squeezed his erect nipple betwixt two fingers.

"… Miyagi…" he moaned, listening to his own lusty voice bouncing off the walls, producing a faint echo all around himself.

His one hand remained preoccupied over his lean chest and his other hand travelled lower, past his navel, and to his genital region. Shinobu's breathing fell deep and heavy as he clamped his hand around his stiff member.

Miyagi had never touched him down there before― the man paused just before having reached it. If Miyagi kept going back then, Shinobu wondered how it would have felt.

His eyes remained fully shut and he involuntarily arched his back, while he pictured Miyagi stroking him and stimulating his sexual arousal. The teen exhaled a lustful breath, allowing his fingers to rub the ever so sensitive head of his cock.

His hands moved rhythmic to one another― while his left hand fondled with his opposite-side nipple, his right hand concentrated on his standing genitalia, slowly pumping his hardening member.

He whimpered and gasped with pooling thoughts of no one but the man he loved so intensely… if only Miyagi could love him back, even if only a little.

The teen steadily picked up the pace of his sexual activity, making the bath water splash around slightly and causing his breathing to fall into short-breathed pants. His left hand quickly abandoned his firm nipple and he quickly gripped onto the slippery edge of the bathtub, feeling himself egging closer and closer to the peak of his arousal.

Shinobu's head pushed back against his cushion as he arched his back in such pleasure. When he was no longer able to maintain his heated erection, the boy released his orgasm into the water and cried out his loved one's name ever so softly, hearing the his pitch ring throughout the room.

He panted while the euphoric sensation stimulated throughout his body and remained perfectly still.

"… I love you… Miyagi…" he breathed silently, with the man's image still clouded up in his mind. Slowly, the boy opened his eyes at long last― disappointment washed up all over him.

He was lying in his bathtub touching himself with nothing but the mere memory of Miyagi, who refused to accept Shinobu's feelings. That in itself was the most Shinobu could have of Miyagi.

Feeling his eyes well up with water which wasn't from his bath, Shinobu brought his weak knees up against his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He ducked his head into his arms and over his legs, allowing himself to silently sob to himself.

He'd never seriously allow himself to be with anyone other than Miyagi… but knowing how against that Miyagi was, Shinobu doubted that would ever happen. But if he didn't have Miyagi to spend the rest of his life with, Shinobu would stand totally by himself.

He didn't want to be alone.

* * *

Miyagi opened the door to Shinobu's apartment the next day during the time Shinobu was at school. It was already past lunchtime, and Miyagi was able to persuade the boy to have lunch with him somehow. There wasn't much eye contact and there wasn't much talking― there wasn't really much of anything.

The teen was really behaving different― Miyagi was starting to understand how Shinobu felt when Miyagi was trying to be distance himself before. It was as though the roles had switched― Miyagi would try to talk to him but Shinobu wouldn't even try to pick up conversation. It was almost just as unwelcoming as when they were rapidity arguing with each other.

The man yawned as he carelessly kicked his shoes off. Heading over to Shinobu's couch ― aka, Miyagi's bed― the man wanted nothing more than to kick back and rest. He sat down and let out a tired breath. He wasn't able to sleep well last night… because of what happened and all that stuff he regretted doing.

His eyes idly trailed down at the piece of furniture he sat atop of, the same location where he abused the poor boy roughly twenty four hours ago. He could still remember every tinge of Shinobu's reactions. He couldn't forget the teen gasping and moaning, writhing at even the smallest touches underneath of him…

Miyagi's brow twitched as he suddenly lost interest in lying down on top of the same couch. He stood up… but still wanted to rest somewhere. But where? The floor? That didn't particularly sound too appealing to the cop. Maybe he should have gone to his own apartment, but it was already too late for that.

His dark eyes lingered… toward Shinobu's bedroom. The brat wouldn't mind, right? Of course not.

Having already decided to lounge in Shinobu's bedroom, the man entered. As soon as he plopped onto the bed, he noticed an opened laptop sitting on top the kid's desk. It had been a while since Miyagi had last been on a computer… Maybe it was about time he'd check his emails or just surf the internet.

Shinobu wouldn't mind, right?

Boredom got the best of the officer as he reached out and pulled the laptop on top of his lap. He opened a window then decided to go check his emails first.

After punching in the web address and hitting enter, he found that the laptop automatically signed into Shinobu's own login. Miyagi automatically hovered the cursor over the 'sign out' option, but he paused mischievously…

He _could_ take the rare opportunity to look at Shinobu's emails if he wanted to. But that would be sort of an invasion of Shinobu's privacy… and there would probably only be some friend stuff or junk mail or whatever typical teenage boys received for their emails.

Come to think of it, Miyagi hardly knew anything about Shinobu's friends. The only thing he knew was that the brat had a so-called girlfriend named Aki, but that was it.

To make Miyagi's snooping a little less obvious, he skipped any messages that Shinobu hadn't read yet and clicked on the first read one.

Junk mail.

Miyagi went to the next one. His eyes read the large coloured text:

… _IF YOU FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO 20 OR MORE FRIENDS WITHIN THE NEXT 24 HOURS SOMETHING AMAZING WILL HAPPEN TO YOU!_

Miyagi blinked. Was that… really true? He read more:

_BUT IF YOU DON'T YOU WILL DIE IN ONE WEEK!_

The man's eyes widened. Holy hell, could something like that really happen because of an email? He hoped Shinobu listened to it.

_THIS IS NOT CHAIN-MAIL IT IS TRUE!_

Now Miyagi was definitely convinced. He would have to make sure Shinobu followed through when he picks the boy up later on.

Miyagi moved onto the next email… which was again, junk. Then more junk. Then… another message that strangely resembled the one Miyagi previously read, only it said that Shinobu's _parents_ would die if he didn't forward it. Weird.

The next email was actually something from the boy's aunt, apparently. It was wishing him a happy birthday. It also said to visit for some time on the other end of the country.

Miyagi wondered how often the kid visited his relatives. Miyagi had been staying with the brat for over a month― almost a month and a half― yet they hardly had seen Shinobu's parents, except the time they had a surprise visit for Shinobu's birthday. The kid didn't seem to be so much of a family person.

The officer yawned as he clicked the next email, which didn't have a subject. The first thing that came into view was a picture of two hardy men preforming heavy sexual activity. The cop's brow twitched and was right about the delete it from Shinobu's inbox, but he caught sight of the text written above the picture.

_Happy 19th birthday, Takatsuki Shinobu. Fancy seeing our mentioning on the news._

It was Shinobu's lovely stalker. It was sent on the day of Shinobu's birthday, and the email had already been opened before. Annoyed, Miyagi minimized the window and fell back against Shinobu's bed.

Shinobu was supposed to have told him about that message the moment he spotted it. Even though they weren't exactly being the most communicative during the past few days, the kid was still obligated to inform Miyagi on such things.

'… _Why is that stubborn brat keeping things from me_?' he questioned himself, reaching into his pants pocket to retrieve his handy-dandy cellphone.

He used speed dial and held the little device against his ear, awaiting Kamijou to pick up.

* * *

Once Shinobu's class ended for the day, the numerous students packed up their shit and quickly headed out.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Shinobu," Teru said, winging his bag onto his backside while Shinobu jammed his notebooks inside his shoulder bag. "I would have asked you to accompany me to the movies, but you're probably going to be busy with your new Aki girlfriend," he teased, visibly smiling.

"Mmg…"

"I had no idea that _she_ was the person you were interested in. You should have told me."

"… I wasn't exactly planning to ask her to go out with me… until a certain point came…" Shinobu mumbled, glaring down at his bags on the desk. He glanced up when he heard her familiar voice speak his name, softly.

"Shinobu," Aki said, joining the two teenage boys. "… and Teru," she added, once she noticed Teru standing there.

"… I'll see you guys later," Teru told the two before quickly turning to walk out of the classroom.

Aki blinked, but quickly turned her attention back to Shinobu. "Were you okay yesterday? You never came back to class after you left with that tall officer."

"I was fine. I wasn't in trouble or anything… he and I just had some… um… _things_ we had to figure out," the blonde muttered.

"Well we had a pop quiz. You probably have to make up for that sometime soon," she mentioned.

"Oh… Teru mentioned something about that to me," he said, nonchalantly. "Maybe I can do that right now."

"Takatsuki-san," Shinobu heard a rough voice say. He tilted his head up to see his teacher there. "What happened to you yesterday? You missed the end of class," Mori-sensei huffed, folding his arms.

"I noticed. And nothing happened to me," the teen carelessly responded.

"If a student happened to get a _criminal record_, it wouldn't look so good for this school's reputation."

Shinobu's brow twitched at such an accusing remark. "I don't have a criminal record. Not yet, anyway."

Mori-sensei seemed to have ignored the kid's last remark as he inquired, "Since you've missed a quiz, when do you think you can make up for it?"

"I can right now, I guess. But…" Shinobu hesitated for a second. "… I've also been thinking about resigning from this university," Shinobu muttered, averting his gaze downward.

"What?" Aki gasped from beside him, bewildered. "Why?"

"I haven't decided for sure yet, but I'm beginning to seriously consider it," the boy mumbled. He glanced over when he heard the class's door open and loud footsteps approach them. Aki also glanced over, and raised a brow as her half-brother came along.

"Hurry _up_, Aki," Kei huffed, placing his hands over his hips. "Did you forget that we're going to see our father? My mum will make me mow the damn lawn if we're late again."

"You're supposed to wait outside…" Aki grumbled, flushing embarrassedly. "And we still have plenty of time."

"No we don't! There's a lot of traffic during this time of day."

Mori-sensei ignored the quarrelling half-siblings and spoke to Shinobu again. "Once you make up your mind about whether or not you choose to transfer out, make sure you notify me so I can do the dirty work of whatever I must do when a student goes away. But for now, you're still a part of my class so let's get this quiz over and done with now."

Shinobu nodded and Kei seemed to have forgotten or lost interest on whatever he and Aki were talking about as he turned to the younger blonde.

"Are you resigning from university, Takatsuki?" he inquired, curiously.

"I might," he responded.

Kei shrugged. "Join the club. I'm also a young guy with no college or university education… Just make sure you continue to pay your rent on time."

Aki jabbed him with her boney elbow and Kei winced, glaring at her.

"If I resign, then I'm also going to move out of your apartment building as well," Shinobu mentioned, earning himself more curious/surprised looks.

The stalled teacher glared down at his watch, annoyed, and the half-siblings kept on staring at the boy, making him feel sort of uncomfortable.

"Why, did something happen?" Kei inquired before receiving a punch in the arm from his sister. He gripped his upper-arm, frowning at Aki again.

"That's none of your business, Kei," she scolded, silently.

Running out of patience, Mori-sensei stepped in. "Takatsuki-san, let's _hurry up_ and make you do that quiz," he grumbled, heading over to his own desk to retrieve the sheet of paper.

Shinobu glanced over at Kei and Aki, so that they'd get the hint. Kei tugged the small woman out of there, rambling on about visiting their father or something like that.

Glancing up at the clock, Shinobu sat down again to prepare for the apparent quiz that he was supposed to write.

* * *

"Geez, you should have told me that you were going to late at the Uni late," Miyagi whined, heading back to Shinobu's apartment after waiting in the parking lot for nearly fifteen minutes waiting for the brat to come out. He quickly unlocked the door with a key Shinobu had given him and stepped inside, Shinobu trailing behind him.

"I didn't know I was going to stay in beforehand," the boy counteracted, kicking his shoes off.

"You could have texted me, brat."

"You're always the one telling me that, 'A good student doesn't text in class, so you better not do it either,'" the blonde mimicked.

"Well this is different," Miyagi muttered, not liking it when Shinobu didn't tell him things.

"Hmph." Shinobu had a scowl set on his face which looked absolutely adorable to Miyagi.

'_Ah… I wonder if he's really pissed at me. We've never had much of a real conversation in a long time_,' Miyagi pondered, watching the boy fiddle with a stuck button on his sweater, above his tummy.

"You can't undo a little button?" Miyagi teased, smirking.

Shinobu glowered at the small piece of metal. "It's stuck…"

"Want some help with that?" Miyagi offered, after hanging his coat up on a hook.

"Nah, I'm good," the teen grumbled, continuing to scowl at the damn thing.

Unconvinced, Miyagi reached over and bumped Shinobu's hands away to get the button undone himself, pressing at the boy's flat stomach.

Surprised at the unexpected feeling, Shinobu accidently let out a yelp and jumped back, out of reflex. Miyagi blinked at the frazzled, blushing teenager.

"Are you…" The older man paused as the tomato-faced brat glowered warning daggers at him. "Are you ticklish?"

"Of course not!" the naïve teen shot back, averting his gaze elsewhere. Miyagi grinned widely.

"Shinobu-chin is _ticklish_!" he amused himself, while Shinobu glared frightfully at him.

"Shut up," he grumbled, looking up when Miyagi took a small step toward him. "W-What is it?" Shinobu stuttered, backing up a bit.

Miyagi raised a challenging brow and Shinobu's livid eyes instantly widened.

"Don't you dare…!"

Before Miyagi could get any closer, he chuckled when Shinobu sprinted away in the direction of his bedroom. Miyagi, who was unwilling to let the brat get away from him so easily, chased after him, not so far behind.

Just as Shinobu was about the pass by the couch, Miyagi grabbed the boy's wrist and pretty much yanked him back and on top of the couch. Shinobu winced when he hit it and made an attempt to scramble away, but Miyagi was too quick to crawl on top of him.

"You're so cute, Shinobu-chin…" the man teased, grabbing a hold of the teen's other wrist to place on either said of his head. The brat was flushing madly, trying to wriggle his constricted wrists away from the towering man who straddled his hips.

Miyagi smiled affectionately and moved his hands away from the boy's wrist to instead entwine their fingers, their palms intact.

"M-Miyagi," the blonde whimpered, giving up his useless struggles. "I-I'm not really all the ticklish… S-So don't try it…" The boy's face turned one shade redder, if it was even possible, and his eyes trailed away from Miyagi's.

"That's an obvious lie," Miyagi bluntly stated. Shinobu turned his head back to gaze into Miyagi's violet eyes once again and blinked, adorably.

"… It's not…" The boy trailed off when Miyagi abandoned one hand to caress his soft cheek. "… Miyagi…"

'_He's so cute…_' the older man thought, leaning in toward the teen. '_Too cute…_'

Shinobu's eyes went wide as their mouths neared closer. Their lips were about to connect in such a long awaited act they would share together.

"Officer, I couldn't get the―" Both Kamijou and Miyagi paused in their own actions, as Kamijou gawked at the scene before him.

Miyagi was less than a centimetre away from their boss's son's lips, pinning one hand to the couch and stroking his cheek with his other hand― and to make it worse, the blonde's sweater was halfway undone in a messy fashion.

"W-What are you doing?" the younger cop inquired, having just came out of Shinobu's bedroom.

Shinobu remained perfectly still underneath Miyagi. Miyagi was stiffened at the sudden interruption and hesitantly withdrew his hand away from the boy's cheek. He sat up straight, still straddling Shinobu, and turned his attention to Kamijou. He smiled, trying to look innocent.

"I-I forgot you were still here, Kamijou! Shinobu-chin and I were just―" Miyagi grunted when Shinobu slammed a throw pillow against his stomach with full force. He tried sitting up, but the weight of Miyagi on top of him made it difficult.

"Get off, old man," he demanded coldly; a glare replaced the feverish blush he was wearing mere seconds ago.

Miyagi pouted but obliged to the youth. Shinobu quickly sat up and glared embarrassedly at the unknown intruder outside his room.

"Who is he? Did you leave some stranger _alone_ in my apartment when you picked me up? You should have told me you were going to bring someone here!" the irritated blonde scolded the older officer, still trying to stare down the brunette.

Kamijou seemed to completely ignore the blonde's scary gaze. "… Officer, may I speak with you for a moment in regards to that email?" he inquired, eyebrow twitching.

"S-Sure…" Miyagi stood up and followed the other cop toward Shinobu's bedroom, with feelings of guilt for not informing Shinobu about any of this.

"M-Miyagi!" Shinobu called out after him, obviously pissed.

"Sorry, Shinobu-chin. I'll explain later," Miyagi said, standing at the door. Kamijou tugged him impatiently inside and Miyagi closed the door behind himself, leaving a very oblivious, jealous, and confused Shinobu of the couch.

Flushing, Shinobu glanced down and began to pick at his sweat button.

"Stupid button…"

* * *

"_What?_" Miyagi bellowed, sitting on the edge of Shinobu's fluffy bed.

"Yeah… It's true. The asshole's clever," Kamijou muttered, sending a copy of the suspicious email to the station's computer system. He then officially deleted the message from the boy's laptop for good. "The stalker was probably aware that we cops would be able to get his information from his service provider, so he must have used a Wi-Fi connection from some fast food place or something to send that message."

"Damn it…" Miyagi grumbled, running a hand through his hair. "Why are all the smart ones always the toughest to bust?"

"It's _because_ they're smart. Duh."

"Shut up."

"Is that my thanks for helping you out?" Kamijou grumbled, setting aside Shinobu's laptop. "Maybe you should learn more about computers so you can do this stuff yourself in the future, instead of having to call me or someone else over."

"Nah, it's much easier when someone else does it for you," Miyagi stated, smirking. Kamijou was glaring at him intensely, so he concluded his statement with, "… But thanks for your help."

"Whatever." Kamijou folded his arms, annoyed. "But with that put aside, what were you doing to the boss's son?" Kamijou questioned. Miyagi stared at his co-worker with a blank, empty expression.

"… Tickling him?"

"Tickling him. Riiiiight…"

"You don't believe me?"

"Not unless you were trying to tickle his mouth," Kamijou huffed, resting his head against his fist. "So since you're with the brat now, let me make this clear to you. I don't want to hear any more whining about whatever about your relationship problems. I'm not your therapist, so I don't want to hear any of it anymore."

Miyagi blinked and Kamijou concluded.

"And besides, if the boss were to ever find out that you're dating his only son, I wouldn't want to deal with any of that shit."

Miyagi sloooowly tilted his airhead to the side, an idiotic smile set on his face. "… What do you mean? I'm not _dating_ anyone," he denied, as though _Kamijou_ were the stupid one. Kamijou planted his face against his palm.

"If you're not… then what exactly were you doing to that brat? Actually, I don't even want to know," the poor brunette groaned.

"I was tickling him."

"You were going to _kiss_ him! And don't deny it! I saw it― I was there!" Kamijou bellowed, unable to believe that the man he was speaking with was thirty five years old. The dork must've had a brain the size of a pea― there was no other explanation.

Miyagi quirked a brow and folded his arms. "I most definitely was _not_ about to kiss anyone. And especially not Shinobu-chin― I'm straight, remember?" The ebony-haired man smirked smugly while steam was boiling off of the brunette in aggravation.

"You're unbelievable, officer. If that's the case, then why were you on top of him?" Kamijou in no way really gave a shit if there really was anything going on between the two people― as long as it wouldn't affect their working status. But it would be quite nice if Kamijou were to prove the bastard wrong for once. Or even better― make the idiot _admit_ he was wrong.

"Why was I on top of him? That's easy." Miyagi hesitated, as though trying to think of a believable explanation. "Because… _Shinobu-chin_ was… trying to kiss _me_…" he blatantly lied, awkwardly.

Kamijou's jaw slowly dropped. A police officer was accusing the innocent party of his own wrongdoings. Truly shameful.

"Don't even try to convince me… I'm just going to conclude with matter with the fact that your stupidity is forever undying and be done with it," Kamijou muttered, sinking back in Shinobu's chair.

* * *

Shinobu's scowl never once left as he continued to sit on the couch, waiting for those two cops to finish with whatever the hell they were doing in there. He'd normally just barge right on in there without holding back, but he decided to wait a little bit before doing that.

Whoever the brunette guy was had to obviously have been a police officer like Miyagi, so it was business. But still, how could Miyagi bring some guy over there without even informing him about it anyway?

What a dick.

Also… just what was Miyagi planning on doing before the brunette guy's uninvited intrusion?

It was definitely a kiss― it _had_ to have been a kiss. It couldn't have been anything else.

Shinobu flushed as things began to register in his mind. If Miyagi was just about to kiss him, then Miyagi must have liked him at least a little bit. And that meant… there was hope! Perhaps Shinobu was thinking a bit hastily earlier… With just a bit more effort, he could definitely get that old man to love him.

The suddenly very happy teen's head shot up when he heard a thumping noise go off in his bedroom. Cops these days… they never had never consideration for other people's property or belongings.

Curious and nosy about whatever was going on in his room, Shinobu stood and went forth. He slowly turned the silver doorknob and peeked his blonde head in.

His face paled at the sight before him.

Whatever-the-hell-the-brunette's-name-was was standing up with his back against the wall. Miyagi was in front of him pinning his wrists up, standing close― too close. It was almost similar to how Miyagi was keeping Shinobu down against the couch minutes ago, only those two were standing up.

"Do you believe me now?" Miyagi inquired while the other guy seemed to have been trying to wrestle him off of him. It didn't appear that either of them noticed Shinobu's spying-like presence.

"Not really― but let go anyway, officer! Unlike your kid, _I'm_ in a relationship, as you already know, so this kind of setting does not flow with me."

Miyagi appeared bewildered as he argued, "I'm telling you that it isn't like that! You're missing the whole point."

"Anyone would like this, officer Miyagi. Now I have to head back to the station, if you would please be as kind as to let me go."

Miyagi didn't seem to look satisfied but released the brunette nonetheless. "You better get going, slacker," he teased.

The guy grimaced and snatched his coat off of the bed, tossing it over his shoulder. When he turned to the door, both he and Miyagi noticed Shinobu standing there. Miyagi blinked, baffled.

"S-Shinobu-chin, how long were you standing there?" he inquired.

"Not long," the blonde responded, glaring at the floor. His eyes slowly lifted and fell onto Kamijou, frowning intensely. The younger officer blinked at first in confusion, but stared back as though he was waiting for Shinobu to be the first to say something. He was absolutely the worst with teenagers.

Miyagi glanced from Kamijou to Shinobu to Kamijou, and back to Shinobu again as their stares intensified even more so.

"… What is this, a staring contest?" Miyagi chuckled a bit, attempting to brighten up the atmosphere. "I think Shinobu-chin's winning… Kamijou, you keep blinking!"

"Will you _shut up_?" Kamijou snapped, not once removing his brown eyes from the scowling little teen across from him. "… How do you get him to stop looking at me like that?"

"Why don't you try talking to him?" Miyagi suggested, smirking. "You guys would make _great_ friends. I'm sure of it."

Shinobu sneered and demanded, "Who are you?"

Kamijou's brow twitched at such rudeness coming from a mere nineteen year old brat. "Kamijou Hirok―"

"Why're you here?" the bold boy interrupted.

"Officer Miyagi called me to―"

"You didn't steal anything, did you?" Shinobu furthermore narrowed his gray eyes.

"Of course not, brat!" he bellowed, accidently throwing out that last remark.

Miyagi leaned comfortably against the wall, folding his arms. "Ah… the start of a beautiful friendship."

Kamijou huffed and muttered, "I'm leaving now if you're done with your little interrogation. Goodbye and good _luck_."

Shinobu stepped aside and allowed the man to stride past him. He soon heard the front door open and close, indicating Kamijou's leave. The boy then glanced up at Miyagi when he approached.

"Sorry, Shinobu-chin."

Shinobu huffed, annoyed with the fact that those two appeared to have had such a close relationship with one another.

"He's Kamijou, my co-worker… Why didn't you tell me that you had an email from your stalker?" Miyagi asked, knitting his eyebrows together. Shinobu averted his gaze, folding his arms.

"… I forgot."

"When did you first read it?"

"The night of my birthday," Shinobu responded, obediently. "How did you even find out about it, anyway? Are you looking through my personal stuff?

"You should have shown it to me from the very start," Miyagi chided. "I got Kamijou to come since he's good with computers and I wanted to see if he'd be able to get his information by doing this complicated stuff that you probably wouldn't understand."

"You dweeb."

"But unfortunately your stalker saw that coming and sent it in a clever way so that it wouldn't work for us," the man explained. "… To you, that's probably a good thing since you're sooo against my leaving."

Shinobu didn't really bother to respond as Miyagi continued to boast, egotistically.

"I don't blame you though since it would be in anyone's nature to grow attached to me. I give off that effect on people."

Shinobu noticed the man's hand reach out to probably to touch his hair, so he stepped back to avoid the contact. Miyagi sighed, pulling his hand back.

"C'mon, will you stop rejecting me?" Miyagi beseeched, losing some of his happy glow. "I know I've rejected you numerous times before, and probably hurt you while doing so, but nothing good will come out of aloof behaviour or arguing. And I can't just leave because I still have a job to do here. So we should try to get along… like before."

"It's not that easy for me, Miyagi," Shinobu droned, silently. The more he'd associate with the officer, the more his feelings would accumulate unconsciously.

"I know. But we still shouldn't try to avoid conversation anymore― it doesn't feel right at all."

Shinobu was blankly staring at his wooden desk across from him, but he was still able to feel Miyagi's stare matted down on him.

"All I've already done recently was say mean things like, 'I don't love you,' or 'We shouldn't be romantic with each other…' But you also deserve to know that I do care a shitload about you, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi whispered, sincerely.

The boy involuntarily flushed, balling up his fists. "I know that already…"

"But I don't say it enough, and I've probably been giving off the impression that I dislike you. So, I'm sorry about that." Miyagi gently patted the teen's shoulder, causing him to flinch a bit.

It was always times like that when Miyagi's sweet words would sweep Shinobu right off his feet and make him feel all happy and fluffy inside. But not that time. Shinobu didn't want to get anymore misconceptions, so he had to set things right for them.

"Miyagi, can you drive me to the station?" Shinobu asked, peering up at him.

"The police station? What for?"

"I need to speak with my father," the boy responded, gripping onto Miyagi's shirt to tug the man along with him.

"Have you ever heard of an invention called the _telephone?_" Miyagi inquired as he got pulled over to the front door.

Shinobu huffed and responded, "A telephone? Old men and their out-dated technology." Miyagi's brow twitched as the boy said, "I've heard of a _cellphone_."

"How about using it?" the old man suggested, annoyed.

"Some things need to be done in person. Now hurry up!" the young teen complained, impatiently. Miyagi rolled his eyes as he followed through with the teen's demands.

* * *

"So what are you going to talk with your father about?" Miyagi questioned, wandering through the station's hallway in search for his boss' office. The station was near deserted of other people.

"Nothing that concerns you. It's more family-related," Shinobu huffed, eagerly glancing around to spot his father's office.

Even though Shinobu never really appeared to want much to do with his relatives or family members, Miyagi didn't feel that he was in much of a position to nag information out of the boy. He also didn't want to appear too nosy and he did have some boundaries.

"Here it is," Miyagi pointed out, stopping when they've reached a closed door. "Your daddy is probably inside right now."

"Thanks…" Shinobu opened the door, without knocking first, and Miyagi heard the boss' voice come from inside, telling Shinobu to come in. The boy peered up at Miyagi and ordered, "Wait out here. I won't be long."

Miyagi leaned up against the beige wall, watching Shinobu disappear inside the office and close the door behind him. Miyagi couldn't figure out what Shinobu could have possibly needed to speak with his father about in person that was too personal for even Miyagi to know about.

Miyagi had earned Shinobu's trust quite a long time ago so it didn't make much sense to the officer… unless it had something to do with Miyagi himself. For a fact, Shinobu would never tell his father about the assault Miyagi did to him. Then maybe… Shinobu could have been requesting… for a different bodyguard?

Yeah, right.

Shinobu was never reluctant to have a bodyguard to begin with and he definitely wouldn't want to go through the phase of warming up to one again. Besides, Shinobu was so attached to Miyagi.

The man huffed, facing the fact that his thoughts weren't bringing him anywhere. He took note of a small window on the office's door as his eyes lingered around, bored. Miyagi casually moseyed in front of the door to allow himself a better view of the inside.

He saw his boss sitting down at his desk as usual, with Shinobu talking beside him. As the boy spoke, the boss wore a concerned expression on his face… which merely made Miyagi even more anxious to know what was happening.

He spied a bit more as they exchanged muted words, but soon stepped away from the glass window since it wasn't telling him anything, and it would have been weird if they noticed him there.

The door opened once again about a minute later, and out came Shinobu with his usual inscrutable expression on his face.

"Let's go, Miyagi," the teenager said dully, turning toward the direction they came from.

Annoyed, Miyagi asked, "What happened in there?" The man followed behind the blonde boy, not even expecting Shinobu to give him an informative or reasonable response.

"Nothing," Shinobu mumbled.

Of course it would be nothing. That was the most Miyagi would get out of the boy, unless he could figure out a way to adjust their relationship onto one they could both become fine with. Things could never go back to the way they were before with the way Shinobu felt now, and also because Miyagi didn't want to fuck up and hurt the boy even more.

All he had to do now was to think of a way to get Shinobu to warm up to him again.

* * *

The following day came by fairly quick and Shinobu was spending a lot of time in his bedroom. In fact, the only times Miyagi got to actually see the boy come out was when he needed to grab something to eat or go for a potty. But even then, it was only a few seconds until Shinobu would get back into his room again.

At the moment, it was seven o'clock in the evening and Shinobu was still in his bedroom. Miyagi was sitting in the living room, bored, and resisted all urges to bust into Shinobu's bedroom to beg for some source of entertainment.

The officer finally felt some wave of relief when a soft knock on the front door interrupted his empty boredom. Finally something could happen in his day.

The man was quick to spring up from the couch and open the door― it didn't seem as though Shinobu had heard― and Miyagi saw Kei standing there.

"Hey, officer," the young man greeted, casually. "Is Takatsuki in?"

Miyagi wondered if Shinobu wanted to see or speak with anyone since he might have been too busy to bother with the manager of the apartment. Before Miyagi decided to fetch Shinobu over, the man decided to see if whatever Kei wanted would be of importance of not.

"What do you need Shinobu-chin for?"

"To collect his final month's rent payment, of course."

"Oh… right," Miyagi hesitantly responded. He had no idea what the hell this guy was talking about. It wasn't even the end of the month yet.

Kei smiled a bit and added, "I also came to say goodbye and good luck. He's going to be far away… so I doubt I'll ever see Takatsuki again afterward."

Miyagi stood there, confused as hell, but tried not to look like that.

"What made him decide to move such a long way away?" Kei asked Miyagi. "Did something happen? Or maybe he just doesn't like it here… I know I don't."

"Nothing happened," Miyagi responded, absorbing enough information to get the gist of what Kei was saying. "Also, Shinobu changed his mind about what he told you."

Kei blinked at Miyagi's unnoticeable lie. "Did he really?"

"Yes. Goodbye," Miyagi smiled as he rudely slammed the door in the manager's face.

That shitty brat. Just when was that little block-head of his planning on telling Miyagi about it? Miyagi didn't have a clue of when or where exactly Shinobu wanted to move away, but it would probably be soon if Kei was already up to collect rent.

Miyagi didn't hesitate when he marched to the brat's bedroom, swinging the door right open. Shinobu's head snapped up at the sudden intrusion, appearing bewildered and annoyed. He was sitting down on the floor with his panda present Miyagi had given him.

Around him… were a few bags of luggage. The room seemed pretty much vacant aside from the boy, the luggage, and the panda.

"What the hell?" Shinobu snapped, clearly upset. "Knock first, asshole! What do you want?" The boy stood up, setting aside the moustache panda bear.

Miyagi stepped inside, standing directly in front on Shinobu. They both exchanged frustrated glares while Shinobu waited for Miyagi to say something.

The man was pretty surprised to find that Shinobu was actually serious enough to have packed up his bedroom. There wasn't all that much in the living room that belonged to Shinobu since the boy was very tidy of his things.

Staring down at the boy, Miyagi was able to tell in the kid's fiery eyes that he was determined and confident. He probably wouldn't hold anything back and just leave. Miyagi never would have imagined how much something like that would bother Miyagi, up till that point.

Just the thought of Shinobu going away from the older man was unthinkable.

"Do you need something or not?" the blonde demanded a second time.

"When are you going to tell me?"

Shinobu glanced away, still scowling. "… My father expects you to come back as soon as I'm gone."

"Gone where?"

"None of your business."

"When are you going?"

"You'll find out when it happens."

"When will you be coming back?"

"None of your business."

"Will you _ever_ come back?"

"… None of your business…" Shinobu's voice turned into a small whisper as his eyes lowered.

Pissed off, Miyagi clutched onto the boy's small shoulders, causing Shinobu to look back up into his eyes again.

"You _are_ my business, you little shit. Don't think you can just get away with planning things out and disappearing to who-knows-where, without even informing me about any of it first. Why would you even want to leave, anyway?" Miyagi demanded.

Shinobu's strong demeanour seemed to be braking a little bit. "There's a better school there… and I'll be staying with my aunt in the other side of Japan… since she always wanted me to come see her…"

Miyagi didn't quite believe that was the whole reason. It wasn't like Shinobu to want to leave for schooling purposes. Plus, Miyagi vaguely recalled Risako telling him that Shinobu was originally supposed to go to some school over there, but refused to since he didn't want to be away from his hometown or whatever.

"I don't believe you," Miyagi stated, narrowing his violet eyes.

"Well it's the truth! And if you don't think so, then that's your problem!" the boy snapped, gritting his teeth.

Shinobu was such a feisty little shit.

Miyagi considered arguing a tad more with him, but found that option to be pointless. Miyagi wasn't in charge of the kid and couldn't make decisions for him, either… Knowing that, Miyagi was still on the verge of completely losing the boy.

So instead of provoking the teen's rage to flare up any more, Miyagi roped his arms around the blonde's frail back and brought him suffocatingly tight against himself.

"… Don't go," the man whispered, ducking his head over Shinobu's shoulder. It wasn't an order― it was a plea. "Don't go…"

"M-Miyagi?" the boy stuttered, startled at the sudden desperation emitting from the cop.

Miyagi ran a hand through Shinobu's hair, petting and stroking him.

"I know I was being a huge jackass and I did and said careless things, but don't make hasty decisions like this. I need to know you're safe and okay at all times… not because I'm your bodyguard, but because I'd never be able to relax otherwise. But for that, I need you to be near me…"

Miyagi heard the boy let out a small whimper, as though he had been trying to hold his emotions in for a while, and felt him clutch onto his black, clawing his shirt.

"I-It's too hard… I can't anymore…" Shinobu was breathing deeply, preventing him from falling into a mess. Miyagi squeezed him tighter, as though at any given second, Shinobu would break free from his hold and run away from him for good.

"I'm sorry, Shinobu-chin. I don't think I love you right now… and without your help, I'm not sure if I ever would love you."

Miyagi had to be honest, otherwise he'd only hurt the teen even more by trying to get him to stay.

"I don't want you to go because… you're already the most precious person in my life…" Miyagi confessed, sort of feeling embarrassed for feeling that way.

The man heard Shinobu sniffle and sob against him. Miyagi rubbed his back and continued to stroke the back of his beautiful head. Shinobu trembled a bit as he cried, clinging onto the older man whom he loved so deeply.

"M-Miyagi… I love you…" Shinobu blubbered, very unmanly.

Miyagi smiled, breathing in his delicious scent. "I know, Shinobu-chin," he sighed against his silk hair. He was almost certain that the response meant that Shinobu really did change his mind about going. Miyagi found it amazing how easily Shinobu would give into his sappy words… but was grateful at the same time.

Miyagi placed his hand back onto Shinobu's shoulders, gently, and pulled back a bit to allow him to gaze down at his glossy gray eyes. Shinobu stared back at him, cheeks flushed and stained with tears.

Bringing his hand up to stroke his cheek, Miyagi let out a small chuckle before leaning down to claim the boy's lips.

Not having expecting that to happen, Shinobu gasped away from it the moment their mouths touched. His face turned beet with widened eyes while Miyagi wordlessly stroked his cheek, adoringly. Within seconds, Miyagi leaned back down again and captured Shinobu's lips, with success that time.

Miyagi closed his eyes, slipping his tongue inside to fondle gently with Shinobu's.

The teen also shut his eyes and completely surrendered himself to the older man.

Miyagi meshed their lips against each other's and tasted every bit of Shinobu's mouth, savouring every second of it. He felt Shinobu's body press closer against his own so he held him firmly intact― Miyagi felt that he never wanted to let go of Shinobu.

When they pulled back for breath, Shinobu was dazed but still looking adorable. Miyagi smiled once again, and pressed his forehead against Shinobu's to place a quick peck on his lips.

"Call up your father and anyone else who you've told, that you're staying here," he whispered, softly. "Once you're done that, make sure you unpack everything to how it was before."

"… Bastard…" the blonde murmured, flushing even deeper.

Miyagi kissed him again, unable to resist his sweet pouting face.

'… _Bratty little shit…_'

* * *

**AN: Just look at all that fluff stuff _ It's so embarrassing to produce, lol. But I've been craving for them to kiss for such a long time… as I'm sure you guys also have been. First **_**real**_** kisses are always a good thing, I think. Also, I'm sorry if it's shitty… I'm very tired right now.**

**And just to clear something up, they won't be having sex. At least not yet or in the next chapter xD But sometime in the future, I'm sure the rating will change from T to M.**

**Please review.**


	13. Kiss

**AN: I'm a very lazy editor when it comes to my own stuff. Rereading my own chapters is just too boring... and chapters are often too long. And I'm unbeta'd. Lol, excuses. I apologize for any errors.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Junjou Romantica and all that stuff.**

* * *

Against the early morning darkness, grey eyes slowly peeled open after not having slept much. It was difficult for Shinobu to find much way to drift off that entire night; his mind constantly replayed everything Miyagi said… as well as the heated kisses they've shared.

Most-likely, it wasn't exactly the most brilliant speech to most people, but to Shinobu it was more than he ever thought he'd hear from him. Getting Miyagi to completely fall for him was on the very tips of Shinobu's fingers… all he had to do now was grasp onto it. Shinobu knew he could do it.

He _knew_ for a fucking fact he **could** do it.

Glancing at the bright red letters displayed on his alarm clock, he read the time, 3:04. In the morning, of course. Normally Shinobu would just let his blonde head fall back against his poufy pillows and snooze without a care in the world, but now he had different intents.

He wanted to see Miyagi as soon as he could. Who knows… maybe one thing could lead them to another and they'd start kissing again.

… Maybe even more.

Feeling his face heat up, Shinobu threw off his warm covers and tumbled out of bed, exposing him to the chilly fall temperature. He smoothly pulled the door open, without letting it creak, and basically tip-toed out of there. As quiet as a ninja, he found his way to the sleeping man on the couch.

The boy knelt beside the blanketed lump, gazing at Miyagi's visible sleeping face. It was unbelievably temping to just touch Miyagi's good-looking features or maybe plant a quick peck on his lips. But before Shinobu even lifted a finger, Miyagi's eyes were open and instantly met Shinobu's stare

"What is it, Shinobu-chin?" he moaned, tiredly rubbing his eye.

Shinobu stiffened, responding, "I, uh, wanted to… see you." He flushed in embarrassment for admitting it.

"Why?"

The teen scowled due to Miyagi's blatant lack of romantic nature. "… Are you not happy to see me right now?"

"That depends," Miyagi mumbled while Shinobu began to regret coming out of his room to see this jackass. "What time is it?"

"It's three-something, bastard," the boy hissed, coldly.

Miyagi groaned, gripping onto his blanket and closed his violet eyes shut once again. "If that's so, then I'd prefer not to see anyone… now go to sleep like a good little boy."

So the rejection continued, it seemed. Shinobu stubbornly sat there, glaring down at his fisted hands. After a few annoyed seconds, Miyagi opened one eye to see the teen still down there on the ground beside him.

"You have school soon," he reminded, confused.

"You know… after literally begging for me not to leave you last night…" Shinobu swallowed. "… This isn't exactly how I envisioned for you to act like afterward."

"Well, what do you want from me then?" Shinobu could've sworn he caught a flush etch on Miyagi's cheeks as he snapped, "And I was NOT _begging_ you to stay!"

"You were damn pleading and you know it," Shinobu huffed, nostalgic whenever he'd think back on it.

"… Shut up. Don't flatter yourself so much, you naïve little brat," Miyagi muttered. Shinobu stared at the man… he was actually half-expecting him to deny or brush it off. Miyagi didn't directly admit to it… but he didn't continue to deny either… which, to Shinobu, was the same thing as acknowledging it.

Shinobu sat there, gazing at the man… he wanted to hug him.

"What are you staring at?" Miyagi grumbled, blinking.

"If you hadn't found out that I was going to move with my aunt and I already left before you could do anything, how would you feel?" Shinobu inquired, bluntly, his face burning in a deeper shade of pink.

Miyagi sighed and lazily sat up. "Go to sleep. Do you want me to tuck you in, little Shinobu-chin?" he teased in attempt to pass from giving a response to Shinobu's inquiry.

"Would you miss me? Or would you maybe try to keep in touch with me?" Shinobu wondered aloud, setting his gaze onto his twiddling fingers atop his lap.

"Someone has school in a bit… let's save this topic for another time, shall we?" Miyagi opted, letting out an odd, short chuckle to hide whatever it was he was feeling.

"But… knowing you, you'd probably just forget about everything and move on with your life, without being obligated to worry about me any longer," Shinobu sulked, feeling saddened that it probably would be true.

"Wha?" Miyagi blinked twice, dumbfounded. "If that's really how you'd portray me, then you really don't know me at all!" he blurted out. Shinobu peered back up, questioning.

"So then… you'd miss me?" the teen asked a second time.

Miyagi glanced away, pondering. "If you went through with your dumb plan… then…" He slowly trailed off and planted his face in one of his hands. "… You're an idiot…"

Shinobu glowered at him for giving an incomplete and impudent response. The boy leaned closer, very much annoyed, and grabbed Miyagi's forearm to let the man know he wanted an answer.

"I'm not an idiot, asshole. I'm _curious_!" he nagged, glaring at Miyagi through his fingers. "Damn old man…"

Out of nowhere, Shinobu's eyes enlarged when Miyagi move his hands to cup either side of Shinobu's face and planted their lips together. Shinobu felt his heart race and closed his eyes… this was an acceptable response for the time being. Moaning softly, Shinobu felt Miyagi's arms travel around to his back, gently pulling the boy closer.

Shinobu tried to battle Miyagi's tongue with his own, reaching up to wrap his arms around Miyagi's neck. It was an awkward position with Miyagi on the couch and Shinobu on the floor, propped on his knees, but neither seemed to mind as they each claimed one another.

When Miyagi slowly pulled back a bit, Shinobu unconsciously let out a pout… it was over too soon.

"Let's just say…" Miyagi paused, trying to come up with the right words. "… I wouldn't exactly be happy, so to say. Or something like that, I think…"

"That's a _dumb_ answer," Shinobu remarked, not in the least bit impressed. "You don't even sound too sure."

Miyagi smiled a bit, brushing some strands of blonde hair away from Shinobu's face. "I answered you like you've wanted… now go to sleep. You're going to be tired all day if you don't."

"But…" Shinobu blushed furiously, tightening his arms around Miyagi's neck. "I want to stay near you, Miyagi."

"Go back to your bedroom, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi murmured before gently pecking Shinobu's cheek. Shinobu shivered… he still wasn't even close to being immune to the love-dovey behaviour with Miyagi.

"Don't wanna," Shinobu childishly refused, averting his shy gaze.

Miyagi sighed, pulling Shinobu's arms off of him. Shinobu felt a small tinge of heartbreak when Miyagi pulled back; maybe Miyagi was still opposed to approaching a deeper relationship with Shinobu. The boy sadly stared down at the ground, lowering himself to sit on his bum.

"Come," the teen heard Miyagi huff. He glanced back up to ensure he wasn't just hearing things, only to see Miyagi remove a fold of the blanket and offering him a spot there… with him.

Shinobu flicked his eyes back onto Miyagi for confirmation.

"Two options," Miyagi said, sternly. "One. You can go back to your bedroom and sleep there. Or two. I'll let you sleep here with me."

Shinobu's eyes were sparkling up at the bodyguard. He was so… moved…

Awkwardly, Miyagi quickly glanced elsewhere and added, "But only ONCE! You got it? And we'll only be _sleeping_. No cuddling…" Miyagi shuffled atop the couch a bit, noticing the very limited space. "… Well, there's barely anymore room for two people so we'll have to get kind of cozy, anyway…"

"M-move over!" Shinobu demanded, shooting up onto his two feet. He clumsily dropped beside Miyagi over the cushions, almost on top of Miyagi's lap due to the lack of space. He moved hastily, trying to create a comfortable setting for him… which wasn't exactly working.

"Gah― Wait a bit; lemme move over _first_, brat," Miyagi muttered, awkwardly moving back and getting Shinobu's leg off of his.

"You're the one who invited me in, so hurry up and don't complain." Shinobu yanked the covers over his small body and laid back down, facing the other direction. "This is better."

"Hey… don't hog the blankets, kid," the man grumbled. Shinobu felt weight drop onto the couch behind him which indicated that Miyagi also lay down again. His eyes enlarged in the darkness when he felt an arm crawl over his waist, pulling him closer.

"W-what are you doing?"

"I'm facing you so that my face won't have to stick into your couch and I won't suffocate," Miyagi indicated, snuggling against the boy. "And remember, this is a one-time thing."

Shinobu let out a huff, turning around to face Miyagi. The man blinked as Shinobu confidently raised a hand to place onto Miyagi's cheek.

"… What are _you_ doing?"

Shinobu caressed the officer, observing the slight stubble that was formed on Miyagi face. "Feeling you," the boy simply responded.

"Can't you think of a different way to say that?"

"If we're only going to be like this _once_, then I want to make the most of it," the brat stated, poking Miyagi's nose, adorably.

"… And making the most of it includes playing with my face?" Miyagi swatted Shinobu's hand away when he was about to do something with his sideburns.

"Your face is all stubby at night," the boy murmured, unable to keep his paws to himself. His fingers found their way to Miyagi torso, gently trailing down the middle of the man's chest. "It's different than in the day time."

"I obviously shave in the morning… someday, you'll have to do so, also." Miyagi grabbed Shinobu's palm securely in his own, pushing it back to Shinobu's own self. "You're very touchy feely tonight," he mentioned.

Shinobu flushed, snuggling up against Miyagi. He felt Miyagi hold his smaller body against him and lips press delicately against the top of his blonde head.

"Going to sleep now?"

"Not until you do."

"You're in bed with me right now, like you've wanted, so close your eyes and pass out," the man instructed, shutting his own dark eyes.

Shinobu furrowed his brows and closed his eyes. His hands gripped onto Miyagi, secretly feeling the cop's abs. How the hell was it possible to be even half-asleep when he was so intimately in the arms of this man? It wasn't an issue for Miyagi, since he didn't yet love Shinobu back, but the blonde wasn't yet used to it.

"… Insensitive bastard," the blonde huffed. He yawned against Miyagi right after; he was actually feeling his eyelids fall a bit heavy.

"Snooze."

Shinobu squeezed his eyes furthermore together; he found himself unable to distinguish whether or not he was trying to make himself all asleep, or stay awake. But as time rolled on, his body felt more and more relaxed… until the next thing he knew, he had slipped from his consciousness and ended up in a deep slumber.

* * *

"Nngh…" Miyagi strained his violet eyes, trying to adjust them to the slight light emitting from the kitchen.

He awoke to the clattering of pots and pans.

"…Mmm…" He showed a weak attempt of getting up, but willingly gave up and fell back against the couch, merely after lifting his chest up.

'… _What time is it? Is it morning? … Didn't I fall asleep with Shinobu-chin? … Damn, that was a fucking good sleep… Where is he_…'

He lazily pulled his arms in from of him, trying to coddle who wasn't under the blankets with him anymore. He moved his leg to try and nudge Shinobu's, but wasn't quite capable of finding anyone to nudge.

'… _Where is he… Shinobu-chin, don't make me jump you_…' he threatened, tiredly, to himself. The sleepy idiot was too out of it to realize that Shinobu wasn't in fact beside him anymore… and the longer he failed to acknowledge that, the further the shifted himself to the edge of the couch…

… Until he eventually fell off with a thump.

"… Ouch…" the poor officer grumbled, rubbing his head better. He glanced up from his spot on the floor, an evident pout plastered on his face. "Shinobu-chin…? Where are you…? Why aren't you here…?" he called out. The noise from the kitchen (which Miyagi hadn't taken note on, previously) came to a sudden halt and Miyagi finally heard Shinobu's longingly awaited voice.

"A-are you awake, Miyagi?"

"No… I'm talking and responding in my sleep," the man mused, smiling. He groggily stood up and threw the blankets back onto the couch, which had fell on the floor with him. "Why are you up so early? What time is it…"

The officer peered up at the clock hanging on the wall, which read, _6:05. _Flabbergasted, Miyagi blinked repetitively, wondering how on earth he could've woken up an hour later than he usually would… and how the hell Shinobu woke up before he did.

"It's, like, six something or whatever. I-I was going to make breakfast for you… so sorry if I woke you up," the blonde grumbled from the kitchen area.

Miyagi's smile reemerged, upon thinking how attentive and wife-like Shinobu was… not that they were married or something ridiculous that that, and he dragged himself over toward where the kid was. He spotted Shinobu in front of the stove― one of those looks of determination set on his face― and a frying pan over a burner. On the nearby counter was a carton of eggs.

"… So what are you making, Shinobu-chin?"

"Eggs."

"What kind of eggs?"

"Uh…" Shinobu pondered a bit, evident that he was unsure. "… Scrambled… No, fried," he suddenly decided, randomly aloud.

"… Cute pyjamas, by the way," Miyagi complimented, letting his eyes cruise along Shinobu's slender frame. Yellow Duckies were plotted all around the otherwise light green fabric the blonde was wearing.

Taking a couple of eggs in his hands, Shinobu flushed. "… You always say I look cute in pyjamas, no matter what they look like."

"Naw… You always seem to buy the rights ones that bring out the kid in you."

Shinobu snapped his head toward Miyagi, shooting him a dangerous glare. "I'm not a kid, you bastar…" The _kid_ trailed off as an unimpressed expression crossed his face. "Go shave. You look much better without those things trying to poke out of your face," he muttered, resuming cooking their breakfast.

A bit baffled by the remark, Miyagi brought a hand up to rub his stubby chin.

"Soon, these 'things' are going to be poking out of your face every morning, too, you know. Besides, I always look handsome."

"Hmph. Go shave."

Miyagi's hand fell back to his side and he just stood there. Honestly, he was still somewhat nervous about leaving Shinobu all alone in a kitchen.

As though sensing this, Shinobu eyed him and hissed, "I can do it by myself! I've improved a lot since before!"

"Are you sure? I'm usually the one who makes us breakfast... you won't scorch your little hand on the burner, will you?"

"I can do it... and i want to do it... for you," he admitted in embarrassment, face turning pink.

Miyagi smirked, almost about to let himself let our some sort of remark to emphasize how sweet or adorable the boy was... but he figured that if he got Shinobu too flustered, the brat would do something reckless and possibly hurt himself or break something, accidentally.

One could never be too careful when it came to safety in a kitchen setting... _especially_ since it was Shinobu who was almost a magnet to trouble in a kitchen.

"Thank you, Shinobu-chin. I think while you're cooking, I'll just head on over to the bathroom to shave a take a piss."

Shinobu nearly dropped an egg upon hearing the last unnecessary statement, and Miyagi hesitantly went out of the teen's culinary territory to get to the bathroom.

He used the toilet, washed his hands, then got started on his handsome, charming, attractive, alluring, elegant, majestic, graceful, and incredibly excellent-looking face.

Ah... modesty...

He evenly applied the white, foamy substance onto the previously said face, wondering if Shinobu was coping alright at the other end of the apartment... or rather, how Shinobu had gotten up and out of Miyagi's arms without even waking the cop up.

Throughout his entire life, Miyagi had always been a fairly light sleeper who'd wake up even to the slightest noises. He'd also automatically wake himself up at around five in the morning without a problem... so the fact that he slept in an hour later, woke up after Shinobu, and had even allowed the brat to slither away without waking up was all quite mysterious to Miyagi.

'_... Perhaps the kid drugged me... I can't trust anybody anymore..._' he thought, finishing up on his face. After rinsing with cool water and patting himself off with a towel, he glanced at his reflection, with approval, and ventured back to the chef.

He nervously peered inside, seeing Shinobu kind of poking at the element, where two lumps sat. They weren't in a frying pan... but in fact, they were laid directly on top of the element. Shinobu appeared a bit frustrated― which could never be a good sign from Shinobu― yet he still had some fiery determination left that was gleaming from his eyes.

The next thing Miyagi noticed was smell.

Charcoal. Or something like that.

"How's it going, Shinobu-chin?" the man inquired, trying to go for the cheery approach as not to make fun of the poor, cook-wise untalented kid.

"Good..." the teen responded, which rose Miyagi's brow. "... But I missed the frying pan when cracking the eggs open."

Miyagi sighed and went over to offer his assistance. "You know, it kind of smells..." The man peered over and gawked at the two ebony black, sizzling lumps of... _stuff_ on the steaming element. "... burnt."

"How do I fix this?" the brat asked, attempting to stir the scorched former-eggs around a bit. Neither moved, so Shinobu tried to scrape one from the bottom of the pan. But since they didn't even budge, the boy tried to recklessly stab at the top with a fork, repetitively.

Miyagi could tell that what Shinobu was doing was incredibly dangerous, so he used one arm to nudge Shinobu away to create distance between the boy and the element, and the other arm to turn the high heat off.

"Idiot," Miyagi scoffed. "You could easily set your place on fire by doing this... Haven't I taught you _anything_ during all this time we've been together?"

The blonde scowled, like the brat he was, his gray eyes fixated on the irreversibly damaged eggs steaming on the cooking element.

"Ah..." Miyagi ran a hand through his hair, feeling sympathy from that sullen face of Shinobu. "Let's have some easy-breezy cereal, instead," he offered, playfully nudging Shinobu's side.

Hell, he could clean up Shinobu's mess and possibly try to scrape off the pieces of char while Shinobu would be at school, later on.

The teen didn't give any response, nor had he moved an inch. With all the initial confidence blown to nothing, his lips were curled downward in a slight pout and his brows furrowed, irritated.

"I can do it right, next time," he muttered into the air. "I... I know I can."

Miyagi huffed, bonking Shinobu's soft head. "Don't beat yourself up over this, brat. Let's eat... otherwise you'll be late.

Shinobu turned to the older man, sour expression disintegrated when he took not of Miyagi's nicely shaven face. "... You look better like that."

Miyagi smirked. "Pretty handsome, aren't I?"

"I didn't say that," the teen responded, as blunt as he often was.

"... Well, maybe you're not so handsome, either," the man childishly counteracted, somewhat wounded.

Shinobu flushed and averted his gaze somewhat to the side. "... I-I didn't say that you _weren't_ handsome... I just didn't say that you were."

"Thanks for the compliment," Miyagi said, brushing off the fact that it wasn't exactly a compliment, nor an insult. He couldn't help but blink when Shinobu brought his hand up to Miyagi's face and laid it over his cheek, blushing.

"It's smooth," the boy murmured silently, caressing Miyagi with that perpetual glare on his otherwise sweet face.

Miyagi smirked and mimicked Shinobu's movements, bringing his own hand to Shinobu's cheek. "So're you, brat."

The two continued like that for a moment, arms outstretched to stroke one another, and with each passing second, Shinobu would furrow his brows more. It was becoming a little awkward for Miyagi; the man wondered why the little blonde wasn't pulling away so that they could hurry up and eat cereal.

The teen's face burned in a vivid, crimson colour, embarrassed, when Miyagi felt the smaller hand on his cheek shift downward a little, brushing a thumb along Miyagi's lower lip.

... That was when the doofus of a cop realized what the brat was waiting for.

Miyagi stepped back out of Shinobu's reach, almost frantically, and let out a loud, awkward laugh while he scratched the back of his head.

"... Ah heh heh heh... How about some cereal, hm? The lovely vitamins, nutrients, and whatever else healthy stuff cereal contains will help mold you into a nice piece of... meat..." the man let out, mentally slicing his own throat for being unable to come up with something more appropriate to say, near the end.

Shinobu blinked, not quite expecting that sort of reaction from his advances. "Sure..."

* * *

Once the two men arrived at the Uni, Miyagi swiftly drove into an empty parking space to park his car. It was unfortunately a rainy day; the fall weather was finally kicking in.

Shinobu sort of liked the rain beating against the windshield and windows... it created somewhat of a blurred censor from them and the rest of the world.

The teen peeked over at Miyagi in the driver's seat, but only to find that the bastard was pulling out one of those goddamn puffing-sticks.

"Don't light one in here, idiot. I don't want to have to deal with that pungent smell," he complained, glancing out at the blurry window, the opposite side of Miyagi.

Miyagi shrugged, flicking a small flame from his lighter. "Roll down your window if it bothers you so much." The man rolled down his own window about a third of the way down.

"No, I don't want to get wet from the rain."

"... Well, I wouldn't want the inside of the car to get too wet, anyway."

"Then don't suggest it... and don't light that thing! It's putrid..." The teen glowered as he watched Miyagi rebel against his very words.

"Too late," the cop said, taking a long drag from the cigarette.

"Ugh..." Shinobu sunk down in his seat, annoyed. He liked it much better when Miyagi would accompany his lips with something else.

... Preferably his own two lips.

He had roughly seven more minutes until it was time he should have left the vehicle, so Shinobu wanted to make the most of that time with Miyagi.

"By the way..." Shinobu glanced over at Miyagi, who had spoken. "How's your relationship with your girlfriend?"

Oh yeah... Shinobu had completely forgotten about Aki. He already broke it off with her when he thought he would be moving away, then he never really thought back on it.

"I ended our relationship before... so today I guess I'll tell her that I still don't want to go out with her anymore," Shinobu decided.

"You think she'll be okay with that? Girls can get pretty... moody... when they can't get their man." Miyagi smirked as he added, "... sort of like you, actually. Only that females can get worse when it's during their time of the month."

"Don't compare me with girls, you dick," the boy huffed, annoyed. "... And what time of the month?"

Miyagi blinked, glancing over at the uneducated teen, before exhaling his drug. "You know..."

Shinobu returned the cop's stare, scowling as usual. "Know what?"

Miyagi sighed. "You really don't have a clue about the ladies, do you?"

"Sort of."

"Well... then do you know about the red stuff that comes out of the―"

"Oh, I know about that." Shinobu remained relatively content, until he thought back on an unpleasant experience when he happened to walk in on Risako wrapping a used pad with some toilet paper. "Gross."

"Quite. So do you think Aki will be fine? You know, since you broke it off with her, because you were moving, but now you're not moving anymore so she might expect to get back together."

Shinobu shrugged. "I doubt she'll care. There wasn't even anything romantic about us to begin with."

"Ah..." Miyagi tossed the barely-finished cigarette outside the window. "Good."

Shinobu glanced over at Miyagi, curiously. "... Why do you ask about my relationship with her?"

"No reason. Just curious about little Shinobu-chin's social life at school."

"... You asked specifically about Aki and me. Plus, you seemed happy when I told you that I'll remain broken-up with her," Shinobu pointed out.

"You're supposed to say, 'Aki and I' not, 'Aki and me,' brat," Miyagi corrected, obviously trying to avoid where Shinobu was heading at.

Quit being an old man― you never care about proper speech or whatever," Shinobu huffed.

"I do... that sort of thing is very important when finding a job or―"

"Stop trying to change the conversation!" the blonde snapped, wanting to break Miyagi's annoyingly cool and composed demeanor. "You don't want me to go out with anyone else but you! Admit it! You lov―"

"You can your bratty, naïve assumptions," Miyagi grumbled, seeming to avoid eye contact with Shinobu. "You and Aki made such a lovely couple. It's upsetting that you felt the want to end it all, so soon..."

"You liar. You said 'good' when I told you about it... It was only a few seconds ago."

"Quit getting mixed up― I said it was a good thing that Aki probably won't be upset, not that you intend to keep her as your ex instead of rejoining with her," the man defended himself, indifferently.

There was a silence that engulfed the car, while Shinobu glared at him.

"... I still think... that you don't like seeing me with her... since you get uncomfortable when knowing that I've dated her... and not you."

"First of all... _thinking_ something doesn't make it a reality. Secondly... you and I aren't going out or in any kind of relationship that goes further than being simply friends," Miyagi stated off, rolling his window back up. "And third of all... go to school now or you'll be late."

Shinobu took a moment to grimace down at his watch. "... I still have a minute left."

He flushed, peeking over at Miyagi when a thought crossed his mind. The man had his arms cradled over the stirring wheel, probably bored or something.

"... Kiss?"

"Nah."

Shinobu felt his blood boil. First, Miyagi refused to kiss him before they had breakfast that morning, and now he didn't want to kiss before they were to part for who even knows how long?

A little scowl set on his cute face, Shinobu turned his upper body to face the older man.

"Kiss! Now!"

"I just smoked a cigarette, my mouth probably reeks of it, which you apparently hate," Miyagi stated, all too matter-of-fact-like.

"I-I don't mind!" Shinobu urged on... starting to wonder if smoking just now was for this very purpose. "And we haven't kissed all morning, so..."

"You make it sound as though kissing is something we do on a regular basis..."

"But we kissed yesterday, remember?"

Miyagi chuckled, peering back at the determined teen. "You were crying... I had to cheer you up."

"Wha-?" Shinobu couldn't believe this guy. "But you... I... I was really happy... since you said that you wanted me and stuff. They were tears of joy, you ignorant twit!" the agitated blonde snapped, aching to meet the bastard's somehow soothing lips.

"Normally, people _smile_ when they're happy― though in your case, that definitely seems impossible."

"It was obvious that I was happy about it... and I'm still really happy about it..." The boy paused for a moment, while his mind went back. "A-and what about last night when we slept together?" he fumed. "You were kissing me and enjoying me!"

"... Enjoying you...?" Miyagi's brow twitched, not knowing what the blunt youth fully meant by that. "It was three in the morning, Shinobu-chin. Of course I'd be very tired."

"I don't like how you try to come up with excuses to explain every smooch we share." Shinobu slumped back against his seat, depressed. He wasn't too fond that Miyagi didn't think too much of those precious times, since to Shinobu, they were very special.

"It's time to go, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi reminded.

Shinobu huffed and turned to open the door, before feeling a warm hand cover his own that rested over his thigh. The teen glanced over his shoulder, flushing at the gorgeous smile Miyagi wore.

"I'll miss you, Shinobu-chin," the man cooed. He gave Shinobu's smaller hand a reassuring squeeze, brushing feather-like strokes of the thumb along the blonde's knuckles.

Feeling his face burn and knowing he was probably blushing all over like a frazzled maniac, Shinobu turned even more agitated.

"You're an asshole... but I'll m-miss you, too..." Shinobu muttered, angry at himself for stuttering. If he didn't get out of the car soon, he was worried his face could possible steam and explode... but he couldn't move until he felt Miyagi be the one to part their hands.

"Have fun," Miyagi said, grinning as Shinobu threw the door open. He hurriedly climbed out into the rain, without anything to cover his head or body from the nonstop droplets of water.

"... Love you..." he murmured silently, before thumping the car door closed again.

He jogged over to the university for cover and wondered through the hallways to reach his classroom. He stepped inside the room and quickly took his seat in the front, next to his friend, and dropped his shoulder bag down onto the ground.

The second he did so, some paperwork got plopped on his desk in front of him. The teen glanced up and Mori-sensei was standing there, in front of him.

"Since you're going to be leaving us in a few days, I need you to read this and fill out these blanks and write down the―"

"I'm not going to move anymore, actually," Shinobu cut off his annoying Law teacher. Beside him, Teru seemed to have lit up as bright as a light bulb while the teacher didn't seem to compute.

"Really? You're staying with us?" Teru was glowing.

"What do you mean? You mean you're..." Mori-sensei's face turned into one of a frightening bear. "... Then I went through the trouble of gathering all this transfer stuff for nothing. That _really_ brightens up my morning," the irritated man grumbled, snagging the paperwork back and heading back to his table at the very front.

Shinobu sat there, feeling somewhat contemptuous of his uncaring sensei. Well, it wasn't any mystery why Mori-sensei wouldn't like him― Shinobu never once made an effort to be a very good student in the class.

"I bet sensei's more upset on the fact that you're staying then that he wasted his time with that stuff," Teru teased, happily. "But I'm really glad you're staying here with us."

"Thanks..."

"If you weren't sitting here beside me, who would I have to talk with? I wouldn't know what I'd― Hi, Aki," the dirty blonde teenager greeted, waving at the female lady who just came by.

Aki showed a friendly smile at Teru and gave a small wave, before turning her attention back to the bored Shinobu. "... Did you just tell sensei that you're not leaving?" she inquired. "I wasn't sure if I heard right..."

'_Was she eavesdropping?'_ Shinobu propped his elbows over the desk to create a bed for his head to rest against.

"Yeah, I decided not to go," he confirmed, observing her eyes glisten up. "... But even so, I don't want to go out with you anymore."

"That's... blunt," Teru silently noted.

Shinobu watched for the girl's reaction... and his assumption was correct. She didn't seem at all upset. Instead, she nodded in agreement.

"I think that's right... but are we still going to study together? Not always... but sometimes."

Shinobu blinked. Studying was basically all they did while they were 'going out...' so not much would change if they kept that up, pretty much. But Shinobu didn't mind doing that with her, honestly. Although... he really did want to spend any excess time he had with Miyagi.

The persistent teen had every intention of improving their relationship till no end.

"Maybe," Shinobu said, indifferently. "If I have time, that is."

"Oh..." Aki seemed a bit disappointed, but still fine. "Call me whenever you do."

"Mm hm." Shinobu's eyes lowered down at his lap when she left to go back to her seat, at the rear of the classroom.

Teru's large eyes trailed a bit after her, until her image rounded and left sight. "... You guys are really breaking up? So soon?"

"Yeah."

"Why's that? You don't think she's pretty?"

"..." Shinobu never really felt attraction toward members of the opposite sex... but he didn't think she was ugly, either. He always had a neutral opinion when it came to girls. "... Aki's alright."

"I think she's pretty." Teru turned to face the grey-eyed boy, smiling like his usual cheery self. "So what's the reason? Is there someone else?"

Shinobu automatically thought of Miyagi. "Yes."

Teru's eyes slightly enlarged, as though he wasn't expecting that response― or as though he wasn't predicting such straight-forward honesty. "... Whoa. Is she pretty?"

Shinobu made a face of disgust. 'Pretty' was definitely not a term he would use to describe Miyagi. Although, the man was of course good-looking― the teen could blush just thinking of him.

"Definitely not," Shinobu responded.

Teru snickered behind his hand. "Really? You're way too honest. Which school does she go to?"

"Doesn't go to university," Shinobu stated. In the past, however, he knew that Miyagi did go study somewhere. Otherwise, he probably wouldn't be as successful as he was right now. "... At least not anymore."

"Oh, a drop-out?" Teru presumed, quite interested. "Ah... I guess that happens to people. Like when there's a crisis or if they move away... is that what happened to her?"

"Nope."

"Oh... so then, she wasn't able to keep up with the curriculum? Or she's not very smart? I mean, I don't want to sound rude... but...?"

"Something I think the idiot's brain-dead," Shinobu huffed, recalling all those times when Miyagi showed absolutely no sign of intelligence, whatsoever.

"R-really? That's... harsh..." Teru leaned back in his seat. So... if she isn't pretty and isn't smart then... why do you prefer her over Aki?"

Shinobu's thoughts shifted on all the positive things about that old man. He flushed, happily, and responded, "... This person's bigger, taller, and stronger than I am, which makes me feel safe... I feel protected, no matter what the circumstance, and I always dream about us together― we're clearly meant for each other."

For the first time in a while, Teru didn't say anything. He remained sitting there, pondering on what the hell that girl was possibly like.

"... B-big, strong, and dumb? ...I'm happy for you, Shinobu... that you found a woman who's... suited for you..."

"Thanks."

It was only then did Shinobu wonder what kind of impression he lodged up in Teru's mind... maybe he should have informed his classmate that Miyagi was _male_...

Oh well.

* * *

Later on that day, Shinobu and Miyagi came back into the apartment. Miyagi plopped down onto the couch and Shinobu, like the little duckling he was, followed behind and did the same. The boy frowned when Miyagi crossed one leg over the other, and made sure he was sitting quite close to the man.

"How was Shinobu-chin's day of school?" Miyagi grinned and ran a hand up through Shinobu's silk hair before wrapping his arm around his small shoulders.

Taking advantage, Shinobu snuggled closer to his bodyguard. "Boring as hell. I think I gave my friend the impression that you're some rough, buff, hideous, idiotic, female person."

Miyagi's smile slowly faded and his brow seemed to have twitched, awkwardly. "How exactly did you give _that_ kind of impression? Actually, _why_ were you even talking about me?"

"... I was describing what I thought of you."

"You think I'm a woman?"

"No... _he_ does." Shinobu reached up and squeezed Miyagi's hand that was hanging off of his shoulder. "How was your day?"

"The whole day, I was scraping off the mess you made this morning with the eggs."

The teen felt a stab of guilt and let go of Miyagi's hand. "... Sorry."

His face went red when he felt Miyagi squeeze him tighter. "Don't feel so bad about yourself over it. You can do it better next time, right?"

The boy rested his blonde head against Miyagi's shoulder, fiddling with his shirt. "... Can I sit on your lap?"

"What for?"

"Because... I want to."

"Nope."

Shinobu wanted to sack his balls in. "Why?" he demanded.

Miyagi motioned at his leg hanging off of the other one. "This is my favourite position and there isn't any room for a kid to be on top of it."

The said kid promptly shoved the leg off. "There is now."

"..." Miyagi's face fell and he said nothing while the brat helped himself and settled over him― he sat sideways with his ass on Miyagi's crotch and his legs lying out beside the man.

When the boy wrapped his arms around Miyagi's neck, the cop sighed a bit but also did his part in embracing the younger one.

"... Kiss?"

Miyagi turned his head away. "You and your damn kisses..."

"Miyagi! Kiss! I want to!" the blonde eagerly insisted, constricting his neck tighter.

"... You're so direct." Miyagi glanced back at the boy snuggling within his arms. Shinobu involuntarily flushed under his gaze, but after a short moment, he felt Miyagi's fingers weave gently though his hair.

It was a good sign... until Shinobu's cellphone began to ring in his front pocket.

'_**Fuck technology!**_' his mind screamed, while he quickly retrieved the cellular device.

Miyagi snickered and leaned back against the couch, comfortably. The bastard almost seemed relieved.

"Hello?" the teen huffed against the phone, annoyance apparent in his voice.

"_Hey, Takatsuki. It's Kei_," the voice on the other end greeted.

"And?" Shinobu was very impatient.

"_I just wanted to confirm whether or not you're still going to move out of the apartment or not... since I've heard from both Miyagi and Aki that you've changed your mind, but I still haven't heard from you_."

"I'm not."

"_Okay... thanks_."

Shinobu hoped that was it. "Bye then."

"_One more thing,_" the annoyance said, just as Shinobu was about to flip off. "_Aki also said that even though you're staying here, you and her aren't staying together as a couple anymore._"

"Uh huh."

"_I'm sorry that it didn't work out... but Aki was doing better at understanding whatever concepts Law was teaching you guys when she was with you. You're good when working with her._"

"Mm hm."

"_But since you two don't want to go out anymore, I was wondering if you would be her own tutor, instead,_" Kei requested.

"Eh?" Shinobu blinked.

"_Because you're very smart and everything. It could only be a couple times each week... I can bring her to your place and you two can do it there, if you'd like_."

"..." Shinobu never thought of himself as much of a pedagogical person. Sure, he was exceptional in class, but that didn't mean he could teach well. "... I don't think so."

"_I'll pay you_."

The sound of money perked Shinobu's interest, suddenly. The money he was living off of at the moment was all from his parents― sooner or later, they would definitely grow tired and encourage Shinobu to get a job himself... that was what happened when Risako moved out, anyway.

"How much?"

"_Let's say... about 3,000 yen per hour?_"

"Alright."

"_Thanks! You should talk with Aki about times and dates and whatnot... Bye then._"

Bye," the blonde mumbled before quickly slipping the phone shut and tossing it over on top of the coffee table.

"Who was that?" Miyagi muttered.

"The apartment manager... He's going to pay me to tutor Aki," Shinobu responded, wrapping his arms around the man, once again.

"You're finally getting a job?"

"It's not... exactly a job. It'll only be a few times each week."

"But you're still getting paid for it." Miyagi smiled and gently pinched the boy's cheek, much to Shinobu's annoyance. "My Shinobu-chin's getting out in the world," the bastard teased, causing 'his Shinobu-chin' the blush, madly.

"W-whatever... it's not like I'll get that much out of it."

"But it's a start." Miyagi began to lightly stroke the blonde's cheek, which Shinobu tried with all his mite to resist squeezing him to death. "Let's watch TV."

The next thing Shinobu knew, Miyagi had the television set turned on and was scanning the channels.

'_**Fuck technology!**_' his mind cursed for the second time in less than ten minutes. Just when they were getting all cuddly, too.

"What should we watch, Shinobu-chin?"

"Forget it," the teen huffed, crawling off of the older man, onto the empty space beside him. "I'm just going to sleep, early."

"Good night, then... Oh, I heard this is a good movie― and it's just starting, too," he muttered, seemingly to himself, as he switched to a certain movie channel.

"I'm using your lap as my pillow," Shinobu stated, earning a gawk from Miyagi.

"Wha? What about your bedroom? It'll be noisy in here," the man protested, furthermore increasing Shinobu's irritation.

He shot Miyagi a deathly warning glare. "Is there a problem with it?" he hissed, as threatening as he possibly could.

"... No..." Miyagi's brow twitched as he let the boy rest his head comfortably over his lap, facing the TV.

Shinobu's body curled up into a small ball and he nuzzled happily against the man's thighs, soon feeling a large, comforting hand stroke his head. He shut his eyes in preparation of drifting off into unconsciousness, but soon shot them open when he heard a rather frightening scream emit from the TV in front of him.

Then, there were quick flashes of people getting decapitated in a rather graphic manner.

Shit... Miyagi was watching a horror movie.

Shinobu was never good with watching those sorts of films.

* * *

The movie ended off with every character dying in pretty gruesome methods. Miyagi was pretty neutral about it, although it had sort of an iffy plot to it― the whole movie was basically people killing everyone else with guts and blood splattering everywhere.

Miyagi stretched his arms out and yawned, before glancing down at the snoozing head atop his lap. It was already nighttime― the movie was definitely a lengthy one.

"Shinobu-chin?" Miyagi whispered softly, wondering if the teen was possibly awake still. The boy visibly flinched at the sound of his name. "Oh, you're awake. Want to go to your room now?" he suggested, rubbing the small back.

"... N-no..." Shinobu shakily sat up and leaned against Miyagi, clinging to his arm.

"Lemme guess... you want to stay out here with me."

Shinobu clenched Miyagi tighter and nodded his head, slowly. Miyagi smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.

"Nope. Go to bed," he egged.

"... No..."

"Stubborn, as usual."

"..."

"... Why are you so quiet? You okay?" Miyagi inquired, blinking as he noticed the slightly shaking shoulders.

Shinobu shook his head and said nothing. He was hiding his face behind his hair and Miyagi's shoulder.

"What's wrong?" Miyagi turned and embraced the small figure into his chest. "Also... how long were you awake for?"

Shinobu gripped weakly onto Miyagi's sweater, melting into his arms. He didn't want to respond... it was too embarrassing.

"... Nhg..."

"Ah, whatever. C'mon, I'll take you to your room," he offered, loosening his strong arms around him. Shinobu only seemed to have gripped a bit tighter.

"... N-no...!"

"... If you refuse, then I'll have no choice but to carry you," Miyagi threatened, smirking. "Like a girl."

He laughed when Shinobu vigorously shook his head.

"If you don't want that, then you better get up."

Again, Shinobu did and said nothing. Without any further warning, Miyagi swiftly scooped the kid up in his arms, and stood up. Shinobu blinked and gawked up at Miyagi, wanting to protest as the man brought him to his bedroom.

Once there, the man gently lay Shinobu on the bed, tucking him in after placing the covers over him. Shinobu avoided looking at Miyagi, but still had a hand gripping onto his sleeve.

"There you go." Miyagi smiled down at him. "Get some sleep. Good night―"

Just as he was about to leave Shinobu to himself, he heard the boy squeak out a request.

"... S-sleep here..."

Miyagi blinked as he noticed Shinobu's cheeks turned red behind the darkness of the night. The boy sat up and lowered the blankets a bit, shifting over. He then glanced up at Miyagi with pleading eyes, and Miyagi noticed the evident fear.

"... P-please?"

Shinobu's weak, trembling fingers tightened around Miyagi's sleeve... Miyagi couldn't see how there was any way he'd be able to refuse the teen without being a total, heartless douche. That was why he sighed and took off his sweater, before joining Shinobu underneath the sheets.

Once under, Shinobu let go and faced the other way. Miyagi got comfortable on his back... he wanted to go and change into proper pyjamas to sleep in, but leaving Shinobu wasn't something that the boy would want, obviously.

Miyagi knew that Shinobu must have watched the movie the whole way through... there was nothing else that could have triggered such fear from him. But Miyagi thought that Shinobu was asleep, since he was so quiet the whole way through.

The man turned his head and glanced over to Shinobu, who was huddled to himself as far away from Miyagi as the bed would allow it, it seemed.

Groaning, Miyagi reached over and snaked an arm up the boy's chest, soon yanking him against his own.

"... What are you doing way over there, brat? I'm here... I can hold you... if you want..." he murmured, pressing his cheek against his head. A small smile crept over his face when Shinobu turned around and cuddled into him.

"..."

"You watched the movie, didn't you?"

"..."

"Thought so. I'm sorry... I didn't think you were scared of that sort of thing," he muttered, closing his eyes.

Having Shinobu in his arms... was just so relaxing. So much for sleeping with the kid only once.

There was a long silence for a bit. Miyagi wasn't even sure he Shinobu was still awake or not... until he heard his soft voice.

"... Kiss?" Shinobu squeaked, probably flushing as he often did. Miyagi smiled lightly.

"... Yeah..." He pulled back a bit and tilted the teen's chin up, first taking a moment to examine the surprised, yet adorable face Shinobu wore.

Miyagi then cupped his cheek and took Shinobu's lips, slowly and gently, until eventually letting his tongue in. Shinobu wrapped his arms around Miyagi and kissed him back just as passionately, colliding their tongues against one another and occasionally letting out a quiet moan, accidentally.

Miyagi was surprised that he enjoyed the brat so much... He wanted this to be their every night.

* * *

**AN: Rushed ending. I'm sorry for any evident shittiness. There wasn't much that really happened in this chapter, but if all goes accordingly, the next chapter should be something to look forward to... whenever I get around to update. I'm so tired...**

**Also, summer school is starting in about four days... wish me luck :D I'll need it. I'm really bad at science (my worst subject) and I'm taking Chemistry. It's going to be hell.**

**Please review.**


	14. Intimacy  Part I

**AN**: Sorry it took so much longer to get this in, I've been busy trying to get some other writing stuffs done or worked on... some of them not even being fanfic. The only thing you need to remember from the last chapter is that Shinobu agreed to tutor for Aki, his female classmate chick or ex-girlfriend, or whatever you want to think of her as.

Also, you'll notice that I added "Part 1" onto the chapter's title... that's because I wanted to cover a lot more in this chapter, but the word count was already getting quite long. So I decided to chop it up into two parts, figuring that this way I'd get more reviews, I'd be able to update it faster... hehe.

* * *

"I'm not going until you kiss me," Shinobu huffed, ass glued to the car seat until his man would give him what he wanted most.

"I'm not kissing you!" the poor old man protested for the umpteenth time. "Hurry the hell up and get out! You're going to be late, brat."

Shinobu's palms fisted over the seat, beside his thighs. They have been going at this for nearly ten minutes, and each passing minute had Shinobu scowling deeper.

It made no sense to the boy why Miyagi wasn't willing to give one little goodbye kiss before they'd part for Shinobu to go to school. A few hours was one hell of a long time to be separated for– it made so much sense to give a good and lasting farewell by creaming each other was a sloppy, ultra wet kiss!

"Miyagi!"

"Quit furrowing your brows, brat," the stubborn old man grumbled, poking the annoyed teen's creases with two fingers. "You're going to develop early wrinkles at such a young age. You need to learn to _smile_~!"

Miyagi grinned sexily for emphasis.

"Instead of acting bratty and constantly pissy, try being bubbly and cheerful... might be good for you."

Shinobu slapped the man's hand away from his face, pissed. "Bubbly my ass."

Miyagi slouched in his seat, laying his hands over the steering wheel. "That's a terrible attitude."

"What's terrible is that you're refusing to kiss me! You know, if I leave for school and something bad happens to everyone in the building, you'll regret that you kept on rejecting me! You'll cry and weep and chant things like, 'I was so wrong for not listening to Shinobu-sama. I should have made out with him much more often!' and then you'll feel lonely and guilty for the rest of your life."

Miyagi snickered; he didn't seem to be taking Shinobu's predictions very seriously. "Oh really? Now what would possibly happen in the Uni that would affect the students so dramatically?"

"A bomb."

"A bomb?"

"Yes. From the science classes."

"Any science student smart enough to make it into this university wouldn't be so stupid to blow the whole school up."

"Then..." Shinobu pondered for a possible theory– anything to get that man's tongue in his mouth. "... Then terrorists! Throwing bombs from the sky!"

Miyagi turned his head toward the teen, smirking. "Terrorists, hm?"

"Yes. Terrorist attack."

"I think I may be under a Terrorist attack right now..."

Shinobu blinked. "What?"

"Nah, it's nothing." Miyagi waved the matter off.

Shinobu huffed, folding his arms. He wasn't sure what Miyagi was implying... perhaps the old man was starting to lose it.

"Your class starts in a few minutes... I really encourage you to go right now, Shinobu-chin.

"Kiss me first," Shinobu muttered stubbornly.

He heard Miyagi groan. "... Then turn around and face me, brat," the man ordered.

Shinobu snapped his face toward the man, a light blush landing onto his cheeks. "Really?

"If it'll make you go to school," he grumbled. "What kind of genius-filled university accepts a bratty kid who puts trivial things like kissing before their studies? Makes no sense."

"Quit rambling and do it before you make me late for class!"

"_Me_ make you late?"

"Yes, _you_!"

Miyagi slumped back, huffed, and folded his arms. "You know, you've just bitched yourself out of a goodbye kiss."

Shinobu's jaw fell. And Miyagi was calling _him_ childish? Hypocrite!

"Now move along, kid, you don't have much time now."

"Miyagiiiii...!" Shinobu reached over and his hand clawed onto the front of Miyagi black sweater– which Shinobu swore, looked _soooooo_ damn good on the man... highlighted his masculinity too perfectly well...

"What do you want?" Miyagi complained, grabbing the grabby hand's wrist.

"You already know what! Now do it before I'm late!"

"You have about thirty seconds to get to class–"

"...!" At this rate, they would only have time for a two-second peck on the lips! The now slightly frazzled boy grabbed the side of Miyagi's face, forcing the cop to face him. "Hurry up! I don't want to deal with my stupid law professor's damn rants about why it's bad to be late and shit!"

"Having that kind of lecture might be good for a rebellious teenage brat." Miyagi's hand crept up behind Shinobu's blonde head and gently began to lace blonde strands with his fingers. Shinobu wasn't wooed by the affection– it could have just been another ploy to tease, gather the boy's hopes, and give nothing more.

As Miyagi's other hand began to stroke the teen's cheek, Shinobu figured that maybe it was time for a different approach.

Without a spoken word, the boy stuck out his luscious pink tongue, tilted into Miyagi's large hand, and licked. The last thing Shinobu saw before closing his eyes was his man's confused blink as he glided his tongue over the palm and up along a tall finger.

"... What..."

Shinobu peeked a look and saw the man smiling awkwardly.

Miyagi continued, "... What is this?"

"My tongue," the boy responded. "On you. It's warm, right?"

Miyagi wasn't sure how to react as the boy began to fume.

"It feels warm, wet and good, doesn't it? Don't you _feel_ me, Miyagi?"

"Feel you...?"

"Yes." Shinobu suckled the tip of Miyagi's middle finger, glaring while the man glanced away. Shinobu noticed the slight flush on Miyagi– damn pervert must have been exhibiting dirty thoughts.

"... I still don't get why you're licking me."

"Because you'd rather have my tongue in your mouth."

"Hm?"

"You're so dumb!" he snapped, pulling away from the man's slick hand in a huff.

The look on Miyagi's face indicated that he had absolutely no idea why the boy began sucking on him just now. But Shinobu was positive that Miyagi liked it... he must have.

"Uh huh." Miyagi stared at the shiny saliva on his finger. Beginning to grin, he asked, "You want a kiss?"

The boy looked at the man again, with interest.

Miyagi smiled, taking the saliva-coated tip of his finger into his mouth, mimicking the teen's sucking movements.

Shinobu flushed brightly and snapped his head away. "What the hell?"

"Indirect kiss," Miyagi said smugly.

"That's gross."

"How's it gross?"

"..." Shinobu almost went silent. "... Because it just is! It's implying that you enjoy indirect kissing more than _real_ ones... That's gross."

He heard Miyagi's gentle snicker. "It's still our spit rubbing again each others."

Shinobu slumped against the car seat, annoyed and slightly irked. "The way you describe it makes it sound even more gross." He blinked when Miyagi's non slicked hand came up and landed on his cheek.

"Come here," the man said huskily.

Shinobu glanced over, but soon shut his eyes when Miyagi leaned further enough to reach and connect to Shinobu's lips. At long last he was enabled to indulge in Miyagi's talented tongue swiveling along his own– he would be certain to savour this. It was the only thing that would help Shinobu get through his school day.

The boy leaned into Miyagi, clutching his hair through his loose fingers. He wasn't sure why Miyagi decided to kiss him now instead of so much sooner, but not a whole lot mattered to him anymore. His other hand weakly gripped onto the older man's shoulder, ignoring the weird car position and absorbing as much of this as he could.

An adventurous hand landed on Shinobu's thigh, which caused the blonde's brow to raise. Focusing on trying to be a good kisser, it was difficult to concentrate on all of Miyagi's actions. The man's grabby paw rubbed against him while it traveled higher, until the red-faced boy felt sensual fingers crawl over his clothed chest.

In a thick daze, the teen muffled a pleasured moan as his head tilted away from the man. "... Miya..." The very corner of his mouth got kissed tenderly, his soft hair getting mussed in the back due to the elder's crafty digits tangling through. He was meaning to question the sexy man; ask why he was placing his hands onto Shinobu's body.

The inquiry was stalled, and once the boy felt a hand find its way under his shirt, it was wholly knocked from his mind. Shinobu locked his arms around the man's neck, reconnecting their tongues in a series of hot but passionate car kissing.

A thumb or something brushed too gently over Shinobu's unexposed nipple– the teen didn't think he would be very sensitive there, until he caught himself producing some sort of satisfied, squeaky moaning voice. The idea of him and his body reacting girl-like when nipples, of all places, were being touched didn't please Shinobu at all.

By the time Miyagi finally pulled slightly away from his Terrorist, his breathing had fallen heavier while the less experienced kid was almost panting. Shinobu wanted to continue, but he did like to be able to breathe again... though it was a little unnerving in their current state, Miyagi being closer than ever while observing his face and every move.

Miyagi's dark eyes were intense. They always were, but this close up was much more so. Shinobu's cheeks went darker, suddenly feeling embarrassed. He was still not good at this stuff; it worried him that he'd do something weird... like making a strange sound or not preforming to Miyagi's expectations.

The man's hand was still underneath Shinobu's sweater; the blonde could clearly feel the paw roaming around in the constricted space, feeling his waist, chest, and very occasionally tempt a nipple.

Under all the pressure of his bodyguard, Shinobu had no idea what to do next. He tried tightening his arms around him, in the sense of hinting they should make out some more.

Miyagi let up an amused smirk, but only gave the boy a quick smooch on the lips before pulling back right after. "We'll stop here," the man said, slipping his hand away from the teen's torso. Shinobu was still feeling a bit weak, as well as his breathing being heavy. He did nothing more than watch the older man sit back up straight, and smooth his hair out where Shinobu was momentarily grabbing at.

"... I'm late..." Shinobu glanced down at himself, noting on how ruffled his sweater was. He immediately tried straightening it out again.

"I lied," Miyagi mentioned. "You still have about seven minutes left."

"But you said...! You're an ass," the boy grumbled. Maybe it was about time he stop getting Miyagi to keep track of time for him.

"It's not my fault you're too gullible... Oh, you actually have ten minutes-ish. Even better," he noted, grinning at his shiny watch.

"I'm not gullible."

Miyagi ignored him. "Plus my watch is a little bit ahead, so you actually have at least eleven minutes."

"Why don't you fix it?"

"I never know what the real time is, or exactly how far ahead my watch is."

Shinobu groaned, quickly holding his wrist out in front of Miyagi to see.

"Wow, three minutes ahead. That means you have thirteen minutes to get to class... probably twelve now..."

While Miyagi adjusted his time-keeping accessory, Shinobu crossed his arms. "The way you keep such close track of time makes you look like a total geek."

"You don't seem at all bothered by that. Which makes me fine with it."

"... Do my lips look swollen?"

Miyagi quickly touched his own pair of lips. "Are mine?"

"No... but mine feel a bit puffy." Soon, the boy felt violet eyes being placing on him.

"... Looks great to me."

Shinobu scowled, unsure what to think of that opinion.

"But your cheeks are kind of red."

"I didn't ask about that," Shinobu huffed.

"Also, I messed your pretty hair up quite a bit."

The teen's hands slapped onto his scalp, frantically trying to groom it neater.

"Ahaha... kids these days really are too self-conscious of their looks."

"Shut up. You're the one who messed it up."

Shinobu was much more worried about having a bad appearance in front of Miyagi than any of his schoolmates. He really couldn't have cared less about the way they would view him. His hands fell back to his lap once he felt he'd groomed himself enough.

Glancing at the older man, he suggested, "Since I have so much time left until I have to be in... can't we do more...?"

"Nope." Miyagi reached into his pocket, and to Shinobu's disgust, out came a pack of good ol' cigarettes and a damn lighter. "You don't have that much time, kid. Might as well go early."

"But I only need like two minutes to get to class and we have ten-ish minutes now."

Miyagi's window rolled down once the cig was lit and placed between his lips. "You know, we argue about this pretty much every time you have to go inside and it always results in the same thing. You might as well spare the waste of time and go to school."

"Fine," Shinobu huffed, opening the door and jumping out. Before he slammed it again. He faced Miyagi and warned, "You'll definitely wish some day that you had chosen to spend more time with me."

Miyagi exhaled a cloud of smelly smoke from his mouth. "I already spend hell of a lot of time with you."

"Not enough," the boy huffed annoyed.

Miyagi threw his smoke stick out the window. "I'll see you later, Shinobu-chin."

Shinobu hated how easily Miyagi was able to end a small argument, still looking cool about it. Casting the cop one last final scowl, he slammed his door shut and ran inside the building, while Miyagi took off wherever.

* * *

Class was finally over for the day and Shinobu was packing up his things. It had been quite a dull lesson, just like every other lesson. Just listening to his professor speak made him tired out of his mind.

"Shinobu?"

"Mm?"

His friend grinned widely at him, as he often did. "Are you doing anything today?" Teru asked.

"Not really..."

"You wanna do something then?" his classmate asked almost excitedly, while Shinobu yawned in his sleeve.

"Mm... huh?" Shinobu stared at Teru, wearing a dopey face, then blinked himself awake when his mind replayed their current conversation.

'_Shit... Did I just say I'm free?' _he wondered_. 'Idiot... I have Miyagi to get home to_.'

"I don't think I can come today..." he said, standing out of his seat to sling his bag around him.

"Why not?" Teru also stood after Shinobu had.

"Well, um..." Shinobu pondered for some sort of excuse to turn down Teru, but saw Aki head toward them, hoping that with any luck she would distract them.

"Takatsuki," she said, stopping in front of their table.

"Hi, Aki," Teru greeted like the gentleman he was.

Aki smiled politely at the teenager and greeted him back, before turning to Shinobu again. "I wanted to ask you about the tutoring stuff my brother asked you to do."

"Tutoring?" Teru echoed nosily.

"I agreed to help Aki with our studies," Shinobu said to his uninformed schoolmate.

"Really? From a boyfriend to a tutor." Teru shook his head. "You strange people."

Aki said, "I just wanted to know which days you want to do it."

Shinobu shrugged. "Any day when you don't understand the lecture, I guess."

"Oh... okay." Aki paused, as though she had something to say. "Then... today...?"

Teru laughed. "_Today_? Today's lecture was so simple."

"Today...?" Shinobu thought about Miyagi... that old guy probably wouldn't be expecting him to bring home someone. But he probably wouldn't mind either... it was Shinobu's apartment after all. "Today's probably fine."

"Really? If you can't, that's alright too."

"No, it's fine," Shinobu confirmed.

"Hm..." Teru looked back and forth the boy and girl. "I bet I'd be able to help. I'm smart."

"But you get a few B's, not all A's like Takatsuki," Aki said.

"At least that's better than a C," Teru grumbled in defense of himself.

"That was only one time, and I fixed it later," Aki huffed.

"Besides," Teru began. "This way I can hang out with Shinobu again. We never do that anymore."

Shinobu didn't care too much either way... as long as he would be able to be alone with his Miyagi right afterward. "I don't mind if Teru wants to come," he said.

"Thank you." Teru grinned.

"Alright. But my brother can only pay Takatsuki for this," Aki mentioned.

"I probably won't even do much anyway," Teru said. "Because Shinobu's so smart."

Their constantly grumpy professor suddenly came up to them, his brows furrowing and corners of his mouth curled downward. "Get _out _of the room– class is _over_ already!" he snapped, pointing to the door.

* * *

"Where is that kid?" Miyagi wondered aloud, leaning against the side of his car. He brought his cigarette to his mouth and took a deep drag from it. The man quirked a brow, seeing Shinobu finally approach with two other figures as he exhaled this smokey drug into the air. "Hey, Shinobu-chin," he said, tossing the smoke onto the cement.

Shinobu and the two foreign others came to a halt in front of cop as he stomped over the half-smoked piece of badness. His dark eyes drifted from the unknown boy to the girl, who he vaguely felt was a bit familiar.

"Who's your friends?"

"Teru and Aki," Shinobu responded dully. "They're coming to my apartment for a while."

"Ah..." Miyagi eyed the girl sceptically, and if memory served him correct, he was certain this chick had formerly been Shinobu's so-called girlfriend. He knew none of it meant a thing on both sides, though he didn't feel a whole lot comfortable seeing Shinobu's first "partner" still standing next to his boy.

The Teru person sparked nothing from Miyagi's recollection however.

"I'm Miyagi," he introduced, as not to be rude. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," the chick said. From the look on her face, Miyagi was certain that she probably remembered him from the one time he had interrupted her and Shinobu's "going out" to a little café.

Teru however leaned into Shinobu's ear and whispered something... though the guy had a pretty _loud_ whispering voice. Miyagi was clearly able to hear his voice.

"Shinobu, who is he?" the tallest teen asked.

"He's my loyal servant," the smug brat responded. "He does things for me, at any time and any place, even if it's an inconvenience for him."

Miyagi arched a brow, placing his hands on his hip. "Is _that_ what I am to you, Shinobu-chin?"

"Yes." Shinobu sent him an unfriendly grimace. "Because otherwise, you can get fired."

'_Gee, what happened to 'love' and 'destiny', you little shit?_' Miyagi wondered internally. If it weren't for the two other teenage kids curiously observing, Miyagi definitely would have said it aloud.

"Brat," he scoffed instead. "You know perfectly well that that's not the real reason why I bother with you."

Shinobu scowled away. Was he still upset about the tiny little squabble they had about kissing and spending time together? Overly sensitive little kid.

"So, why are these two going to your apartment? Gonna have a tea party?" the man teased.

Teru snorted, bringing people's eyes on him. He snickered behind his hand. "Hehe... tea party..."

"Don't laugh at his lame jokes. You'll only encourage him," Shinobu huffed to his friend.

Teru tried clearing his throat to get the giggles out of his system. "Er... sorry."

Miyagi huffed, "Don't scold your buddy for laughing at my humour. It wasn't that bad."

"Yeah." Teru nodded.

"It was terrible," Shinobu muttered.

"Don't be such a sour face," Miyagi said.

"I'm not being a sour face, I'm saying the truth."

"Maybe it's true to _you_, but to everyone _else_ it's false."

"You and Teru don't represent everyone else."

"Hell yeah we do."

"What do you think, Aki?" Teru suddenly inquired, bringing every man's eyes onto her.

Aki batted her lashes at suddenly being put on the spot. "Huh?"

"What do you think?" Miyagi repeated.

She stared at the three, and cleared her throat. "Well... I'm just wondering why you guys are making such a big deal out of it, to be honest."

"Men are very competent people," Teru said simultaneously.

"That's what you call being competent?" the female asked, seemingly unimpressed.

Shinobu approached the car. "Let's just go. We're supposed to be tutoring Aki," he muttered, yanking at the locked door handle.

"This is funner," Teru said under his breath.

Miyagi unlocked the doors to his vehicle, letting the youngest teenage brat get inside. "Studying is more important. So make sure you students don't slack off when we reach Shinobu's place," he ordered.

* * *

'_Holy fucking geez_,' Miyagi thought, twirling a pen between his fingers. '_I'm so damn bored._'

The sky blue pen dropped out of his hand and onto the tablecloth once again. The cop groaned tiredly and ran his twitchy fingers through his ebony hair. He heard another round of laughter arise out of those brats from around the corner of the wall. But of course, the laughing were only voices from a guy and girl who sounded much too uppity and childish-boy-like to have been Shinobu.

That brat was too stiff, even around his friends. But from all the laughter emitting from those people, Miyagi couldn't determine whether or not any work was getting accomplished on their part. He didn't want to go check though; he wasn't Shinobu's parent and they didn't need an adult pestering them to get on track. Being in university as they were, they had the maturity to do things without supervision.

But that was also why Miyagi was so damn _bored_! He was a fucking police officer– he needed some goddamn _excitement_ in his middle-aged life! It wasn't in his favour to sit a the table with a crumby, neglected newspaper while he counted the seconds until Teru and Aki could get the hell out so he could start squeezing some entertainment out of his brat.

He was almost tempted to shoot down Teru and Aki so he could scoop up and snatch Shinobu all for himself– he was that bored out of his fucking mind... or maybe he was just that addicted to being the first and foremost person to take pleasure in hogging all of Shinobu's attention?

_Nahh_, he was just bored.

Slipping his rough hand into his pants pocket, he lured out his cellphone. AKA, a device frequently used to connect with (or abuse) his most bestie of bestest friends ever, Hiroki.

_Hey, my sweet strawberry jam!_ Miyagi sent the text and sat back while he anxiously awaited the reply.

When he received a response, the old man's face lit up and immediately opened the message: _Wtf?_

Such a short and boring reply... just like the person who sent it. Miyagi's fingers swiftly worked to create the message: _What's "wtf"?_

Seconds later, he received: _Strawberry jam? Have you lost it?_

Miyagi glared at the message for awhile, and just before he was going to respond, another text message was displayed.

_Oh wait, you've already lost it._

Miyagi began to fume and texted: _Did not! You said you didn't like being called honey, so it should be strawberry jam!_

The older man glared when he saw a response: _Strawberry jam is just as stupid. Now please stop texting me during work hours. I don't want to hear about whatever problems you're having with that kid of yours._

_You're the one who's texting back, my bitter octopus. And FYI, Shinobu and I are more happy than ever._

_Then why are you texting me?_

_I'm bored._

Miyagi slouched forward as he awaited Hiroki's reply. As seconds ticked, the man began to wonder if Hiroki had ditched the conversation, but soon found a picture was sent to him. He soon viewed it, and a big middle finger was displayed on his screen.

'_You think you're so damn funny..._' Miyagi thought, brow twitching at the little prank.

The man had a quick recovery and sent the text: _If you're going to be so mean, I'm not going to talk to you anymore D:_

He received the single word: _Good._

Thus came the conclusion of their little argument. It was certainly the last time Miyagi was going to text him for fun again... it seemed like that brunette was getting meaner and meaner by the second.

After he was finished grimacing at his most recently sent text, he couldn't help but glance up when he heard footsteps approach the table. He was met with a smiling Teru.

"Hey," Miyagi greeted, his phone's screen still aimed at him. "Studying hard?"

The teen came closer, and pulled a seat out across from Miyagi so he could join him. "Not exactly..." he confessed. "We were more like making fun of our professors and saying stupid stuff. Shinobu only just now proposed that we start working."

They spent twenty minutes doing nothing, while Miyagi was reaching his boredom breaking point? Miyagi wanted to strangle this kid just for letting him know about it. "You guys are going to start working now? Is that why you left them just now?"

"Well I don't want to work," Teru mumbled lazily. "Besides, Shinobu's probably a much better tutor than I am."

"That's not a good attitude," Miyagi said.

The person didn't say anything for awhile, until his large eyes happened to flick over and note on Miyagi's phone still pointed at him. "You doing something on your phone?"

"Oh, no... I was just sending texts to a... friend or something." Miyagi shut the cellular device seconds after glancing at the screen again. "Geez, what kind of cop sends innocent people pictures of middle fingers? Jerk should get fired or something," he grumbled mainly to himself, stuffing the black phone back into his pants.

"Hm?" Teru's eyes seemed to sparkle... or something happened to perk within the teenager. "A cop? You're friends with a police officer?"

"Well, I consider myself to be his friend. This guy's just an overgrown bully," Miyagi responded.

"But you speak with the guy, don't you?"

"Yeah." Though Miyagi knew Hiroki wasn't too keen on it, especially during working hours. "I guess so."

"Wow..." Teru slouched back. "Police officers are so cool."

"Oh?" Miyagi smirked; the kid's words were just an ego booster for him.

"Mm hm. I plan to be one once I finish university."

"That's a good path to take." Of course it was a good path– it was Miyagi's career choice after all.

"Then I can help people, gain authority, and adopt twenty starving children from Africa who have no homes..." The big-dreaming boy soon seemed to be getting lost in his own thoughts. "... Perhaps another ten from China, if I manage to find a wife along the way..."

"You want to adopt thirty kids while maintaining a job as a police officer?" Miyagi inquired, raising a brow at the seemingly impossible goals.

"Yup." Teru's smile never wavered. "Gotta be able to bring home some salary to feed them, don't I? And cops are just so cool, so it works out."

Miyagi didn't know what else to say but, "Good luck."

Teru grinned wider, as though Miyagi's two words had just done so much for him. "Thanks. Are you really Shinobu's servant?"

"Ah?"

"Yeah?"

"No."

"No?"

Miyagi sighed. "As much as that kid might think I am, I'm nobody's tool," Miyagi said sternly.

"Then... is Shinobu your servant?"

"No." Although, Miyagi did grin at the thought. Oh, the things he'd make that brat do for his own sadistic pleasure... "I just work for Shinobu-chin's father. This isn't my _real_ job, but right now I'm just babysitting," the man explained. It wasn't _entirely_ a lie, since half the time Miyagi felt it was damn close to babysitting a little kid... aside from the heated make out sessions they've been having lately.

But they weren't Miyagi's fault; they were Shinobu's for provoking the man and somehow making him want to touch and hold and kiss and other stuff with the boy.

"Are you bored?" Teru inquired, looking pretty bored himself now.

"Hell yeah."

"You can join us," the teen offered.

"No thanks. I've taken those classes before and sure as hell don't want to relive those moments of a student again," the man huffed.

"You've taken law?"

"Er, yeah."

"Are you a lawyer?"

"No..." Miyagi paused for a moment, figuring there wouldn't be any harm in revealing his occupation for this ambitious young man. "I'm an officer."

The second Miyagi offered those words, Teru emitted a shrill squeal– which Miyagi swore was the most girly, high-pitched, and ear-breaking breath he had _ever_ seen from a man. Teru was now on the edge of his seat, staring at Miyagi through the bug-eyes of a fanboy. "_You're_ a cop?"

"Uh... yeah..." Miyagi let up a stiff smile, not used to the sudden, awkward attention like this.

"I didn't know that– you should have told me."

"Well, it's not entirely important."

"Do you like your job?" Teru asked.

"Mm hm."

"Does it pay you well?"

"Enough to keep me alive."

"What's the coolest thing you've ever had to do?"

"Is this an interview?" Miyagi asked, breaking the teen's chain of consistent questions.

"No... I'm just curious," Teru said. "Because I want to be one someday, too."

"Then you should go back to Shinobu-chin and Aki to _study_ with them," Miyagi grumbled.

"You should come," Teru offered once again.

"No, I'd obviously be a distraction. I'm quite aware of how easily kids your age get off topic."

Teru shook his head in denial. "I'm _always _on topic though."

"Then how come no work has gotten done during the last twenty minutes?" Miyagi challenged.

"Uh..." For the first time, the teen lost his perpetual, glowing smile. "Because Aki and Shinobu were the ones who were laughing and picking on our professor... or at least Aki was laughing a lot. Shinobu wasn't really," he said.

"Figures. Shinobu-chin never does anything but scowl," the man huffed.

"Hm?" Teru blinked, like a naive child would. "I've seen Shinobu smile before."

Miyagi almost choked on his own spit. "... What?"

"Actually..." Teru stroked his pointy little chin. "Shinobu laughed with me before. He has a nice one."

"_Hah_?" Miyagi's jaw was hanging low. "That brat _has_ one? What the hell, I never knew something like that."

"I think everyone does... even him." Teru smiled again, maybe thinking back on the angelic face, which Miyagi had never had the privilege of seeing before.

"But Shinobu-chin is more rock than he is human," Miyagi grumbled unintelligibly.

Teru began snickering behind his hand– why couldn't Shinobu display happy emotions as freely as this guy?

"Perhaps that brat's too embarrassed to do it in front of me," he muttered, partly directed to Teru but more so to himself.

"Hm... I don't see any reason why he would be. He's... I don't know, I guess really radiant when he does it." Teru shrugged.

The old police officer had a pang of jealousy throbbing somewhere inside of him. Miyagi also wanted to witness it...

* * *

That night, hours after Aki and Teru had left, Shinobu was shooting Miyagi yet another venomous glare after receiving a remark about his cooking.

"Shinobu-chin... don't be like that," Miyagi said, feeling the pressure of that scary look. "I meant to be _constructive_ about the dish."

"'This sucks donkey ass' isn't constructive, damn cunt," the boy snapped furiously. "It's not my fault that I'm not good at cooking cabbage yet." The blonde stormed out of the kitchen, into the living room.

"Wait, Shinobu-chin," Miyagi said, catching him by the wrist when they've reached the front of the couch.

Shinobu scowled over his shoulder. "What."

"Quit being pissed! You've been acting angry all day... this old man can't take anymore coldness, Shinobu-chin." His voice softened, pulling the utterly stiff boy up to his chest and within his arms. He placed a gentle kiss on top of some blonde hair, drawing out the adorable crimson blush he was looking for.

The stubborn teenager tried to slip out of the man's arms. "... I'm going to bed," he muttered.

Miyagi let out a sullen sigh, allowing his arms to drop back to his sides. "I suppose I will too, then," he said, turning to the couch to grab the neatly rolled-up blanket sitting at the edge of it.

Arms folded over his chest, Shinobu asked, "What are you doing?" as Miyagi began to unravel the fluffy cover.

"Getting my bed ready, of course."

"Stop that!" Shinobu roughly grabbed onto one of Miyagi's strong arms, attempting to yank the bigger man away.

"Wha...?"

"You sleep in _my_ bed now with ME!" the huffy brat shouted, kicking his door open once they've reached the bedroom. "We've already slept here together before, so I forbid you from touching the couch during nighttime," he said strictly.

He let go of Miyagi's arm once they stepped inside and Shinobu went straight to his dresser to randomly toss out a pair of unmatched pyjama top and bottom pants.

Miyagi hesitantly sat on top of the bed, his eyes fixated as the boy tossed his sweater off his body and onto the ground.

"... Do you want me to step out while you change?" he asked while Shinobu lifted his plain undershirt up and over his head, showing his perfectly shaped but scrawny torso to Miyagi's greedy eyes.

"Why would I? I'm not ashamed of my own body. I don't care if you see it."

"Yeah, but we've never had sex yet." The man instantly regretted his choice of words the moment he let them out. He covered his mouth and looked away.

'_You fucking __**idiot**__! What the hell does __**sex**_ _have to do with anything? And why'd you have to say 'yet' at the end of it, implying that we're even going to be fucking in the future? Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!_'

The pink-faced man risked a peek at the young boy, who had froze in his actions. Shinobu was staring at the floor, his face redder than Miyagi had ever seen it before. "S-Sex?" he stammered quietly. "You mean you want us to... we're g-gonna–"

"I, uh, I-I didn't quite mean it so... I mean, we're not... never mind! Forget everything I said 'cause I didn't mean it like that!" he snapped in brutally poor defense of himself. He snapped his raven head away again, refusing to look at the half-naked boy in the eye.

"Well how else did you mean it then?" Shinobu whined, holding his pyjama shirt in front of his bare chest. He appeared much too cute, vulnerable, seductive– yet another reason why the man couldn't look at him. "What else could you have meant by us not having sex yet? Miyagi! Answer me!"

"Forget it, brat," the man huffed, still wanting to stab himself for letting something so stupid slip out of him. "It's late, we're both tired, let's just go to bed."

"..." Unexpectedly, Shinobu didn't throw much of a fuss over it. "... Fine then."

"Good. You can resume changing again," Miyagi said, rolling his temples. He was able to see the boy's figure from the corner of his violet eyes.

"I know, old man," Shinobu grumbled, slipping his two skinny arms into the loose sleeves of his shirt. The lithe fingers of his hand held the first button to the narrow hole, but his hands were trembling. Miyagi looked up to his face, which was still beet red.

Unfortunately, the more Shinobu tried to do up the first button, the more shaky his hands would get. Two grey eyes trailed to Miyagi's direction, and finding that the man was staring at him, his nervousness, and his body, he blushed and glared harder. It only seemed to intensify his felt pressure, so the teen ditched his buttons, leaving his shirt wide open, and went for the button and zip of his pants instead.

He managed to get his fly undone much easier than Miyagi suspected, and he watched those pants get pulled off those two pale legs, and stepped out of.

And there stood Shinobu. Face enticingly flushed, open-shirt, and pants-less. Miyagi couldn't look away, not that he wanted to, especially with the small bulge in the teen's lovely, grey undies. Temptation was almost overwhelming.

Shinobu seemed to avoid Miyagi's gaze. He got his socks off, using only his feet, and then kicked the messy clump of pants and socks further away from him. The blonde's shirt was obviously too huge on him, and in the action of kicking, one side fell off of Shinobu's shoulders.

With every single fucking movement, it was getting harder and harder for Miyagi to keep still and seated. The boy was getting even more sexually enthralling than a damn hardcore porn itself... almost.

Instinctively, the old man stood up which had grabbed the somewhat nude teen's attention.

Shinobu shivered when Miyagi approached. "W-What...?" he asked shakily.

Miyagi growled angrily, faintly. His body wanted this boy, which was all Shinobu's fault for presenting himself so easy to take and alluring. Even worse, Shinobu merely stood and stared when Miyagi came too close to him, instead of backing away as any level-headed person would.

The man stared down at the clearly fuckable person before him, and no words were exchanged, until his hands spontaneously crept up to touch Shinobu's raw waist.

"Ah–!" the boy yelped, unable to jump back due to the cop's secure and unbreakable hold. "M-Miyagi! Your hands are freezing!" he protested, head ducking, shoulders shrugging, and loose fingers tangling in the fabric over Miyagi's chest.

The raven haired man clenched his teeth at the sensitive, too innocent little outburst. It was early winter time, of course he would have cold hands... but as they roamed over Shinobu's tense upper body, he could feel the teen's whole body was radiating warmth and heat.

'_... He'd probably be even hotter... inside of him..._'

At last, Miyagi peeled away from the delectable piece of young virgin, with a couple of large steps back. His mind was getting poisoned. His last thought proved it.

The man turned away, this time being absolutely certain not to take another peek at Shinobu. There weren't words to describe how close Miyagi was to slipping up. And knowing how crazy this brat was, Shinobu wouldn't have done anything but lay back to take anything and everything.

"Miyagi?" Shinobu asked gently. His voice was soft and pure, having enough influence to draw the man back to him. Miyagi had to get out... at least until this boy was well dressed.

The cop headed toward the bedroom door without another glance back. "I'm going to change in the living room."

"W-Wait–!"

Miyagi cringed at the sound of his voice requesting the worst possible thing. "Get dressed, brush your teeth, wash your face, take a piss, and go to sleep, Shinobu-chin," he ordered responsibly.

"Miyagi! You're forbidden from touching the couch at night... you have to come back here. After."

Miyagi twisted the knob and stepped out. He said, "I'll meet you back in bed then, you brat," then closed the door behind him.

When he dug into his big-ass bag on the floor beside the couch and changed into some comfortable clothes from there, his mind was blank. Sometime while he was changing his garments, he heard that boy go from the bedroom to the bathroom.

After a while, the man stopped to take a couple of breaths to relax himself, and he went back and stood in front of the bathroom. He didn't hear anything from inside, so the man knocked a couple of times. "Shinobu-chin?"

"W-What?" The boy sounded startled... which had Miyagi blinking.

"You almost done?"

"..." The silence was annoying. "... Um..."

"I have to use the bathroom too, you know. It doesn't normally take you thing long," the man huffed.

"I, uh..." More annoying silence. "... T-This is _my_ bathroom! Don't tell me when or when not to get out!" he suddenly snapped, although shakily. God, this brat aggravated Miyagi.

"I wasn't telling you to get out, I was saying to hurry up," he said, leaning against the wall.

"Fine then!" Shinobu yapped back, slamming the door open. His face was incredibly flushed... Miyagi thought the colour of Shinobu's face would have neutralized by now. "It's all yours, old man." The boy hurriedly scrambled from bathroom to bedroom, in a second's flash.

Miyagi sighed and decided not to give him any notice. Probably just some more of that brat's weirdness. He soon brushed his teeth, used the toilet, and did any other duties he had to do in there, before coming out and entering the bedroom again.

He found Shinobu already lying down in bed, cuddling with his own covers, which was a big relief to Miyagi. The man switched off the light and closed the door, allowing full darkness to engulf the two.

He heard something on the bed move a little bit as he crept closer, and realized that Shinobu had scooted closer to the wall on his side. Miyagi sighed loudly to let Shinobu know it wasn't ideal for him to move too far away, and slipped under the sheets with him.

"Good night, Shinobu-chin," the man muttered, facing away from the boy. He stuffed his nose into the pillow... he loved the scent– Shinobu's scent...

"G'night..." Shinobu echoed back.

The room was then absolutely stiff and quiet. Miyagi turned over onto his back and stared up at the ceiling. He tried to make himself believe that this sort of atmosphere was normal for anyone trying to sleep... but it felt too tense and... silent. He turned his head to steal a glance at the one next to him. Shinobu was all huddled to himself, too closed off and faced away.

'_So __**he's**_ _the one making the atmosphere all uncomfortable!_' the cop automatically accused. He reached across and touched that blonde head of his.

The boy flinched, tensed, then growled. "What?" he snapped.

"You're making it hard for me to sleep."

"I'm not even doing anything!" Shinobu's back seemed to pull tighter.

"Yes you are, you're being all unnatural and scooting away. What's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem! That... concerns you..." Shinobu muffled that last part.

"Would you feel better if I were to sleep somewhere else?"

"No!" Shinobu blindly whipped his hand out behind him and clutched onto Miyagi's shirt. "You're forbidden!"

Miyagi turned his body toward the difficult blonde. He put a hand on Shinobu's shoulder and rubbed tenderly. "Then what's the matter?" His arm slipped around the teen's chest to hold him. "You want to snuggle like an old, married couple?" he asked.

"Stop trying to tease me, old man," Shinobu huffed, not doing anything to remove the man's arm away.

"Well then which do you want? Snuggle or no snuggle? Yes or no?" Miyagi shifted closer, pressed the blonde's back to his chest. He himself wanted to snuggle– Shinobu provided a lot of warmth whenever they did.

"Yes... no..."

Miyagi smiled and kissed Shinobu's head, feeling the boy shudder. "_You're_ the one who's teasing me, Shinobu-chin," he muttered.

"It's not my fault," Shinobu huffed. "I have a... um..."

"A what?"

"A... uh... N-Nothing to do with you." Shinobu roughly tried to shrug Miyagi off, but the most it did was loosen the man's grip only slightly.

The cop sighed. "Shinobu-chin, you're annoying me," he said bluntly.

"It's too embarrassing." He sounded nothing more than a squeaky little thing.

"Don't worry, I won't judge."

"Yes you will. Now go to sleep, Miyagi. Old men need their rest," the blonde huffed.

"So do growing boys... but I'm not going to let you if there's something wrong."

Shinobu said nothing.

After a moment of silence and pondering, the cop decided to lean in and kiss the boy's ear. He nipped the lobe, then licked Shinobu jawline. The teen's rapidly reddening skin was littered with the man's warm, affectionate kisses. If this wouldn't get Shinobu to speak, he didn't know what the hell would.

Miyagi victoriously managed to make the fluffed brat turn his head and upper body to roll over more toward him. The kid obviously just wanted more smooches.

"Mm... Shinobu-chin..." The man traced his wet tongue along Shinobu's lips. "You taste good," he said, licking his own lips in front of the teen's two half-opened eyes.

The blonde looked away, evidently feeling some sort of embarrassment sink in. Unusually timid, Shinobu asked him, "... What are you doing? You usually... don't like doing that with me."

Miyagi quirked a brow at that last statement, but decided to ignore it for the time being as he had other objectives. "Brat, I'm trying to see why you're acting weird... well, weirder than normal since you're always pretty weird." Miyagi smirked at the blonde's adorable denial face.

Shinobu didn't say anything at first, then an arm came out to gently push the older man away. His other arm tried to support his weight and picked himself up, only a slight bit away from the mattress.

Miyagi narrowed his eyes, getting prepared to stop this little shit from trying to run away. He'd leap on him and bind him up if he had to.

"I'm just going to go do something really quick... stay here," Shinobu said too innocently. He tried getting up, but Miyagi planted a large hand on his small chest and pushed him right back down against the bed. He kept his hand there, just so the kid wouldn't feel a chance to get past.

"I don't think so," the man said, smiling adoringly at Shinobu's annoyed scowl. He was just so cute when he couldn't get his own way.

"Move, jerk," the boy grumbled, wearing his dark blush.

"Alright." Miyagi moved over on top of the boy, resting a knee between the blonde's two legs. The cop snickered at the flustered expression the boy soon took on.

Miyagi's hands moved flat onto either side of Shinobu's head. Perhaps in a moment the older man would move aside to stop teasing the poor soul, but this was very amusing to him. And Shinobu didn't show any genuine signs of anger or annoyance... he was just looking like a blushing little fool.

"M-Miyagi..." Shinobu stared with his bug-eyes into Miyagi's confident ones. His breathing was heavier, maybe due to nervousness. The concept of Shinobu being nervous about basically anything was a bit farfetched... but Miyagi enjoyed the feeling of being able to control the boy's fragile emotions.

The man smiled bigger and said, "Calm down, brat." He moved slightly closer and brought his knee up, which gently hit something... something _hard_.

Shinobu winced at that exact moment, then shivered embarrassingly, as he looked away. "..."

"What the...?" Judging from the knee's location, betwixt Shinobu's legs, he knew which part of the boy it had touched... but the stiffness threw the man off guard...

"..."

"Shinobu-chin..." Miyagi gulped, already feeling awkward before he had even asked him, "... Is this making you horny?"

The boy hesitantly looked back up at Miyagi. "No... well... yes..." he admitted bashfully. "It is..."

"... Oh..." Miyagi didn't know what to say. Was he supposed to apologize in this situation? He didn't know. "You're, uh... pretty hard. Sorry...?"

"Are you hard, too?" the blonde inquired, his ears going scarlet.

"Er..." Such an awkward question! "Well, no, not exactly. I-I mean, I was just trying to tease you... and stuff..."

"... This isn't what started this... it was before," the boy began, staring unblinkingly into those violet eyes. "When I was stripping... and you were staring at me... looking really interested." It was only then that Shinobu glanced away again. "T-Then you came closer and touched my bare body..."

"Ah..." It was one of those moments when Miyagi felt like the dumbest person in existence.

"Plus it was all right after you brought up s-sex..." The boy trailed off, staring at Miyagi's bewildered eyes. "... So sex was probably on your mind..."

"Listen, kid–"

"Were you thinking of fucking me?" Shinobu asked shamelessly.

Miyagi almost forgot how to breathe properly right after that question. "_Hah?_" This was the reason why Miyagi didn't like dealing with horny little teenage bastards...

Shinobu glowered at the reaction, seeming to take it as an insult. "That's why I wanted to take care of it myself in the bathroom... I wanked on my erection until it got really big and hard, but then you interrupted before I was even finished..."

"Uh..." Perhaps _now_ was the time to apologize. "... Sorry...?" It sounded sort of lame... but it _did_ indeed seem to be entirely his own fault for starting this chaos.

Shinobu then wore a pout on his attractive face, which made Miyagi feel pretty bad. The blonde muttered, "Um... I'll go to the bathroom now... to fix it..."

Miyagi made no attempt to get off. Then when Shinobu tried to lift himself up, Miyagi did something even he wasn't expecting himself to do.

"A-Ah–!" Shinobu yelped out, spreading his legs out more, whether within his own conscious or not.

Outside the thin fabric, Miyagi fondled Shinobu's manhood. He had an iron grip, which Shinobu seemed to take great pleasure in, judging from the shrill reaction.

"M-Miyagi...!" The unconditional lust lingering with the teen's voice, along with that surprised, pleasured expression on the boy's face had Miyagi's own dick started a bit. Those two glossy eyes slowly opened. "W-What...?"

"Shinobu-chin..." Miyagi's thumb stroked agonizingly gentle over the bulge, causing the boy to grasp onto the mattress beneath him.

He was enjoying watching the brat; it was the first time viewing a horny, more sexual angle of him. It was fun seeing the boy try to fight off his own libido, even though he was evidently turned on from just Miyagi's simple, indirect stroking. This was probably the very first time Shinobu was getting touched inappropriately by anyone other than himself.

The boy's soft moans, which the brat had been attempting to suppress, had stopped once Miyagi's skillful hands had abandoned his crotch area a moment after rubbing it.

His two desirous eyes opened halfway, gazing confused at the older man. "... Miyagi?"

"One second," he responded, shifting backward a bit.

The blanket fell off him as he sat up straighter, and to yet another surprise for Shinobu, the man's thumbs slipped inside the waistband of both his pants and boxers.

"Lift your hips," Miyagi ordered, his voice deep and almost intimidating.

The man was pleased to see the adorably nervous teen unable to do anything but comply. Those slender hips came up and Miyagi peeled down the annoying clothing, enough for the boy's erection to become exposed.

Miyagi's violet eyes roamed from the blonde's revealed cock to Shinobu's seductive face. His breathing was still heavy, and he was self-consciously looking to the side, providing Miyagi with his body.

The cop's cold hand rested on Shinobu's hip, bringing himself closer. The blonde shivered at the contact, with his legs spread and Miyagi between.

"M-Miyagi," he finally spoke. "What are you... going to do...?"

Instead of providing a verbal answer, Miyagi's free hand wrapped around the sensitive length.

"... Ah..." Shinobu's shoulders tensed, and Miyagi saw his fingers twist along with the sheets. "I-I was... going to take care of it by myself... in the b-bathroom..." His body writhed a bit when Miyagi's thumb rubbed the tip– the cop felt a warm, sticky substance start to come out already.

"Shinobu-chin, it was probably my fault that you've become like this... I should have seen it coming since you're a teenager. Teenagers always turn into such horny bastards sooner or later."

The boy voicelessly cried out when Miyagi solidly jerked him. Shinobu's hand found its way to his blonde hair and ran his fingers through it, having the most aroused and arousing expression on his face. "Hah... Miyagi..." he groaned.

"Since I caused your erection, I guess I'll be the one to get rid of it... to make sure you don't nag me about it later on..." He slowly began to pump the teen steadily.

Somewhere in his mind, Miyagi knew that it wasn't entirely necessary for him to be doing this... but there was something that prevented him from wanting to stop. He was getting really turned on by merely staring at this brat's face...

Miyagi licked his lips and said, "Lay back and enjoy this, Shinobu-chin... I'll make you feel good..."

* * *

**AN**: Oh hot damn...

For anyone who is also following Chaotic Youth, that next chapter is just about finished as far as writing goes... I'll just have to type out all those pages (I hate typing chapters... takes forever) and pass it onto a beta to look at. I was thinking of updating this and that together, but ehh, no point in letting this chapter sit un-updated until I finish all of that stuffs...

Review, please.


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